"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name".  — Psalm 29:2 Are we Gods' rivals? Do we compete with Him? Unfortunately, throughout the ages man has competed with God by glorifying ourselves in our ego and our belief that we are responsible for all the good in our life. We proudly claim to be "self-made". Sounds familiar? Lucifer too had similar thoughts. He too rivalled God. He led Eve to believe she could be God too! ( “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”).   It seems to be inherent in man to try and rival God, even as we read and believe His word and even as we are strongly advised to humble ourselves.  A small example: do we donate to the needy or do we pass it on? Think about it. When God commanded "thou shall have no other Gods before me" - it included us!

  Based on the KJV devotional and Pastor Chuck Swindoll's Insight for Living.  All things are possible to him that believeth. — Mark 9:23 "Many professed Christians are always doubting and fearing, and they forlornly think that this is the necessary state of believers. This is a mistake, for “all things are possible to him that believeth” But I believe, that believing is not enough! Remember Moses?  God works best when we give up. When we lose that last sense of independence, of control and the smallest iota of self dependence.  Let me draw on Pastor Chuck Swindoll now, and see what he has to say about such times -  "Moses felt as low as a slug's belly. Way down there. He still hadn't rid himself of the idea that he was supposed to be the deliverer, and that he was somehow failing. How many times had God explained it to him? Yet, like many of us, he had trouble keeping a grip on the Lord's assurances". Are we not like Moses?  What was Moses to do now? ......

                                       *Image: Addicted to success One key element of success in all aspects of life is persistence and or perseverance. Perseverance separates the winners from the losers. Those who persevere understand that luck is something you dent depend on.  Success in life depends on your willingness to never give up, even when the reward is delayed. Persistence is a force multiplier. Let's look at what the Word Says about persistence in Luke 11 Ver 5-10 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he wil...

There are very many people in this world who may have or may be going through situations which create extreme hopelessness and helplessness, and life becomes unbearable. It may be a burden of debt, or personal circumstances, death of a loved one, joblessness, poverty, injustice, sickness and so on. Such burdens can become overwhelming, and Many have taken their own lives, many have thought of it, many have attempted it. Sleep, if it comes becomes the only rest. Some turn to drugs. Some to alcohol. Some to God. This is nothing new. Fear made the prophet Elijah request God that he might die (1 Kings 19:3-4). Jonah’s anger and dissatisfaction brought him to ask God to take his life (Jonah 4:3). Job was so tormented that he loathed his life and was bitter to the point that he wished he had never been born at all (Job 10:1, 18-22). In one's lifetime, there is a high probability that one will face such a phase. We are not going to question why God allowed it. The question rath...

                                                                           Image: Scout Life Magazine Prayer is a pillar or actually the cornerstone of Christian life.  A typical prayer may include giving thanks, intercession, blessings, praise etc.  And we may ask for help with the problems and challenges we face. Tom Clark from Life, Home and Truth has this to say -  ... "do we always pray for the right things? Let me illustrate this with a paraphrase of a story by Peggy Porter on usscouts.org that I read many years ago. Eight-year-old Gilbert had only been in Cub Scouts a short while when the scoutmaster handed everyone a block of wood, four tires and a sheet of instructions, and told them to go home and “give it all to Dad.” Unfortunately, the dad part was not an option for ...

Ruth 1:16 “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Reading the story of Ruth has always been an inspiration. Naomi is devastated, Ruth's decision to tie herself into the hopeless situation of Naomi and her life changing decision to jump from the frying pan into the fire is incomprehensible by today's standard. She faced complete devastation yet became an inspiration for us when we face hard and terrible tragedy or circumstances. Joy Burgess puts it so well when she says - "When life brings devastation, it’s not easy to hope. It’s hard to have faith. But when things are the most difficult, that’s when we need faith and hope the most. In the moments where life feels like it’s crushing you, start with a little faith. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And looking a...

 

Joshua 1: 7-9 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” What part of God's word did you put into practice today? You have read your Bible, said your prayers, meditated and possibly taken notes as well. Of all God's word that we read and quote, which ones have we actually put into practice? It is important because that "practice" is called obedience. And that is what the quoted verse is talking about. Second, let us not interpret Gods word, because we often interpret it to suit ourselves. For example, a...

  Image: Martin Young Bible Cartoons Read : Matthew 25:14-30 "Ephesians 1:11 declares, “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” "Predestination” as it is used in the Bible means something different than what we probably think it means. It is more to do with Gods foreknowledge, plan and love. It is a vast subject and maybe you can get some more insight from Billy Graham HERE  “Predestination” , for most of us, on the other hand, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. Today let us look at this word in another way :  referring ...

                                                                                                                    Image 9 Marks We know that it is everyone's responsibility to pray. But do we realize it is also our responsibility to pray responsibly ? Prayer is a serious act: it is talking to the creator Himself- one to one. In the words of Donal Cantrell, "True prayer involves people that understand the importance of taking responsibility. 1 -  God hears us when we pray. 2 – He looks at our hearts for sincerity and honesty. 3 – Do we mean what we are saying or are our words useless babbling? 4 – If we are asking God for financial needs do we honor him in our giving? 5 – If we are seeking w...