Challenge of the Day: Acknowledge God's presence

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.                  Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)

God is omnipresent.  Whether we like it or not He is with us all the time. Leviticus 10:3 says, "By those who come near Me (God) I must be regarded as Holy." So recognizing that God is always near us, how do we regard Him as Holy? 

Well let's think about how we act in the presence of other people that we esteem: 

Regardless of how we feel about the president, when he walks into a room we acknowledge his presence and we listen to what he has to say. 

Most of us are conservative and considerate when in the presence of members of the clergy. 

And though we may be more familiar with our parents we still maintain a sense of respect and responsibility when around them. 

The question is, what have these people done for us that God hasn't done?  Why is it that we feel they deserve our respect and God doesn't?  God has given us love, mercy, and grace when we didn't deserve any of it. And even though we continue to act foolish at times, He still allows us to come before His throne.  If anybody deserves our allegiance, God does.

The truth of the matter is when you really realize what an honor it is to commune with the Lord of lords, you are able to agree with Jesus who said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30)."  When we are in the presence of the president we are not burdened by the fact that we are expected to dress and behave a certain way because we are more focused on the honor of being in his presence.  The same should be true of God almighty.  When we are in His presence we should be less concerned with rules and expectations and more concerned with the honor of being in His presence.  So today while we're out, let's remember we're in the presence of a King.

Biblical Insight of the Week!

It continues to amaze me the information the Lord has left to us in His Word.  To share in this week's interesting insight click on the link below.
The Bible Says What?!?!

New song, prayer request, and devotion of the week!

The song for this week is Praise by LeToya Luckett.  It is from the Preacher's Kid soundtrack.  LeToya has a beautiful voice and this song does a great job of encouraging us to persevere and praise God despite our circumstances.
Song of the week

The prayer request this week comes from Iran.  Persecution has picked up in Iran since a public figure accused evangelicals of confusing and converting Muslim youth.  Please keep are Christian brothers and sisters in Iran in your thoughts and prayers.
Pray for the Saints

The devotion this week is a couple of verses reminding us of our hope in Jesus Christ.  Remember, if you lost everything you had, you would still have everything you need in Christ. 
Devotion of the week:  Hope

Challenge of the Day: Do something nice for someone else

Good morning!  Ok so the challenge of the day is about being selfless.  Most of us live in a culture that encourages selfishness on a daily bass.  It's all about what we want, what we think, and how we feel.    Even our community service is self focused.  We only participate when it's convenient or when someone's looking.  This selfishness is also invading our spiritual lives.  We tithe only when we need a breakthrough and we pray when we need a blessing.  Sadly, selfishness is becoming so common that many of us aren't even aware of it anymore.  So today I want us to actively combat this selfish nature.  Do something nice for someone else and take yourself out of the equation as much as possible.  Don't look for acknowledgement for the deed, don't expect a thank you, and do not judge the person receiving the kindness. 

We have to learn that this world is much bigger than the small space we occupy.  True joy comes from blessing others the way Christ blessed you. 

If you are really looking for a challenge try doing something nice that might actually be an inconvenience for yourself.

Examples
1.  Buy groceries for someone else
2.  Carry someone's groceries to the car
3.  Offer someone a ride
4.  Fill up someone's gas tank
5.  Hold the door open for a group
6.  Let someone ahead of you in line
7.  Give your lunch to a homeless person
8.  Play with a child
9.  Compliment a stranger
10.  Check on a distant relative

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.                                              Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)

Challenge of the Day: Celebrate Spiritual Growth

When I was little I used to sing all the time.  Whitney Houston, New Edition, Michael Jackson, I loved it all.  And I really thought I was good at it too.  I remember one sunny afternoon jumping on the trampoline singing my little heart out when our neighbor peeped over the fence and exclaimed, "Oooo girl, Whitney Houston better watch out!"  At that point in my life, she wasn't telling me something I didn't already know.  I was confident in my skills. 

Well over time my confidence was shaken a little.  I decided I probably didn't have the range of Whitney, but I figured I could still be Chili from TLC.  However the older I got, and the more opportunities I had to hear real singers sing up close and personal, the more my delusion crumbled before me. See, a great singer on the radio is nothing compared to a great singer standing right in front of you.  But even when I realized I would never reach Mariah's status, I never stopped singing. 

Many of us go through similar situations on our spiritual journeys.  We go through life thinking we are great people.  We don't hurt others, we don't steal, and we are productive members of society.  Then one day we hear about Jesus and our confidence is shaken a little.  We realize we are not perfect but we settle for being "good enough", status quo, acceptable.  Then one day we see Jesus and our delusion crumbles.  You see it's one thing to hear about a Jesus that delivers, and it's quite another to see the ex-addict for yourself.  We can read about the love of Christ, but it's nothing compared to witnessing the ex-prostitute shouting and shedding tears of joy.  If you haven't experienced this yet, I guarantee one day you will be confronted with the humility, love, kindness, joy and patience that can only come from Christ himself, and it will transform your life. 

But I warn you, it is easy to be discouraged when we encounter the Spirit of Christ.  We think that we can never live up to His standard and are tempted to give up.  But I encourage you to keep singing.  Don't quit.  Some weeks will be better than others.  We will spend a lot of time in prayer and we will never stop repenting.  But we will continue to grow in Christ, and God celebrates growth.  So take some time out today to celebrate your spiritual growth.  You may not be where you're gonna be, but you're definitely not where you used to be!

Celebrate and I'll celebrate with you.  Love you!

New Page: The Bible Says What?!?!?!

Surprise!!  I've been wanting to do this for a while, and I finally worked up the energy to see it through.  I added a new page to the blog entitled The Bible Says What? This page is dedicated to sharing practical scriptures that you may or may not know exist.  Many people recognize the holiness of the Word of God but forget all about it's practicality.  People become overwhelmed by the idea that God speaks to us through His Word and so they either ignore it completely or wait on someone else to tell them what it says.  Well I want us to get out of that habit.  The Word of God is for each and every one of us.  You can and should read it for yourself and I hope some of these surprising scriptures will inspire you to find out even more about the Word of God.  Remember willfull ignorance is not an excuse.  You will be held responsible for what you did with the information that God provided.

And the winner is......!

Good morning family!  The time has come to announce the winner of our CSN gift certificate giveaway.  I would like to first thank everyone who participated.  I was truly blessed by reading about what God is doing for everyone.  His universal love continues to amaze me.  I want to encourage you all to continue to give God glory for what He is doing in your lives and if you ever want to post a praise report on this site please feel free to do so in any comment section.  Or you can email me (kalonda@att.blackberry.net) and I can create a post dedicated to your testimony. 

Now without further ado, the winner of the CSN giveaway is.....Liz!!!   Congratulations Liz!  We all celebrate your win with you!  I will email you soon with prize details.