All posts tagged: Christianity

The Black Dot!


“One day our headmaster walked into the classroom and put up a broad white sheet of paper with a small black dot in the corner. ‘Boys,’ he asked, ‘what do you see?’ All of us shouted in unison, ‘A black dot!’ Then he said, ‘So not a single one of you saw the broad white sheet of paper? Don’t go through life with that attitude.’.”

A Black Dot!

I don’t know much about Koffi Annan the former UN Sacretary General, but from what I gathered, he was gifted at seeing the big picture, especially when it came tonegotiating and solving complex problems around the world.

Monday Night Meditation


Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Praise God for His intrinsic attributes Praise God for His infinite holiness Praise God magnificent power Praise God for His eternal life Praise the Lord God Almighty He who sits on the throne – alone is worthy to receive glory, honor and praise For He created all things and by His will and for His pleasure we exist. Praise God!

What does it mean to Gain Christ?


“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8 When my oldest daughter was about three years old, I would pick her up from preschool and bring her back to the office every week day. We had a little play area at work for kids to hang out until parents were done working. So she would just play in that space until it was time to go home. One day, as she played and I sat in my office putting finishing touches on my weekend message, I kept hearing this noise coming from the play area. It sounded like someone was tapping on a table with a hard object. So took a little peek to see what she was doing. Well, she was playing with one of those educational toys that help children learn different shapes. I noticed that she was forcefully trying to …

7 Reasons why God won’t use you


Throughout time, God has, in His Sovereignty, chosen to use people to accomplish his purpose. When he needed a deliverer for his people in Egypt, he called Moses. When he needed to finally save men from sin and damnation, he chose Mary to bring Jesus into the world. He used a stick to part the Red Sea, a little boy’s lunch of fish and bread to feed thousands. He even spoke through a donkey at one time. So God is in the business of using people to accomplish his plan. But as much as God wants to use us, sometimes he cannot adequately use us because we get in His way. The following are 7 reasons God cannot adequately use you. 1. You steal His Glory I am the Lord ; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.  Isaiah 42:8 ESV Satan was banished for it Nebuchadnezzar regretted it Herod was killed for it. Simon was cursed for trying to buy for his glory Paul …

What does it mean to really love God?


And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:17, 18 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome …

Singing with the Enemy


Every day in December – leading into Christmas, I have planned to have or experience joy in every area of my life.  As bold and ambitious as that is, I am very hopeful and confident that nothing will derail me from knowing indestructible joy – every day in the month of December – even in difficult times. So here is a story that will help you do just that.  I started a 23 days devotional a few days on YouVersion.  This post contains the 3rd day notes from “Joy! to the world countdown to Christmas, which was written by Carol McLeod and Just Joy Ministries Here is the story British soldiers were spending Christmas Eve 1914 on a French battlefield during World War I. After four months of fighting, over a million men had perished in the bloody conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches of the opposing armies. It was in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, that a miracle occurred! British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit trees …

Ignite my Soul: Consume these idle sticks


“God consume these idle sticks in my life that may burn for thee.” Jim Elliot What does the word idle mean? It means – not active or in use. synonyms: inactive, unused, unoccupied, unemployed, disused. It speaks of a person – not working; unemployed. Synonyms: unemployed, jobless, out-of-work, redundant, between jobs, work less, unwaged, unoccupied. It also speaks of a person avoiding work; lazy. Synonyms: lazy, indolent, slothful, work-shy, shiftless, inactive, sluggish, lethargic, listless It means to lack or be without purpose or effect; pointless. Synonyms: frivolous, trivial, trifling, vain, minor, petty, lightweight, shallow, superficial, insignificant, unimportant, worthless, paltry, niggling, peripheral, inane, fatuous It defines a person who spends their time doing nothing; be idle. Synonyms: do nothing, be inactive, vegetate, take it easy, mark time, twiddle one’s thumbs, kill time, languish, laze, lounge, loll, loaf, loiter. The Scripture warns about it A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 10:4 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. Matthew 20:3 But …

Arrested by Stealth


Mark 14:1 ESV It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him. They wanted to arrest Him secretly. Stealth comes from an Old English word related to steal. Now we must understand that no thief steals openly. Stealth means secretive, secrecy sneakiness, slyness, camouflage, clandestine. I am sure you have all heard about the stealth bomber? This aircraft was designed in accordance with technology that makes detection by radar or sonar difficult. This is the modus operandi of the enemy. His primary way to attack us – steal from us and hinder us – is to hide from us! He seek to blend in, make his moves undetected. The scripture calls him a thief – John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But he does none of this openly. Matthew 24:43 says to – Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a thief was coming, he …