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)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
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!
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.
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.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Don't forget about the CSN Giveaway!
Hey family I just want to remind you that the winner of the CSN Giveaway will be drawn tomorrow morning! Don't miss out on your chance to win a gift certificate to any of CSN's 200+ online stores. All you have to do is visit my original CSN post and add a praise report to the comments section. God has been too good for us to keep quiet.
P.S. Somebody will definitely win tomorrow and no, Marcus, it can't be you :-)
P.S. Somebody will definitely win tomorrow and no, Marcus, it can't be you :-)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Challenge of the Day: Be wise and responsible
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Proverbs 24:3
In times of trouble one of the most heard mantras is, "I didn't know!" But most times it is a poor excuse. We don't know because we don't want to know, we're too lazy to find out, or we think we're invincible and above the law. Thanks to nice parents and great customer service we have learned that most tough situations can be mollified by claiming ignorance. The sad thing is feined ignorance gives us a false sense of security. We never learn to take responsibility and when we are finally confronted with an issue that refuses to accept "I didn't know" as an excuse, we are caught off guard.
We get ourselves in trouble when we refuse to gain knowledge. This type of ignorance had dire consequences in the bible. In Luke 19, Jesus wept over Jerusalem saying,
If you had known, even you, especially in this your day,
the things that make for your peace! But now they are
hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you
when your enemies will build an embankment around you,
surround you and close you in on every side, and level
you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they
will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you
did not know the time of your visitation.
Luke 19:42-44 (NKJV)
Don't be misled into believing that Jesus was just being hypercritical. He held the city responsible because they should have known better. The Lord had already sent judges, prophets, teachers, and scriptures to inform the people of the Savior's arrival, but they refused to gain the knowledge. They were willfully ignorant and they suffered the consequences.
God did not call us to live this way. He gave us wisdom and good sense so that we could make responsible decisions and avoid harmful consequences. He even goes so far as to promise more wisdom for those who may be lacking (James 1:5).
Examples of willful ignorance
1. I didn't know it was so late!--If you have a problem being on time, it may be wise to set more alarms throughout the day and always leave at least15 minutes earlier than you think necessary.
2. I didn't know he was a dog!--If he doesn't go to church, disrespects his family, ignores you in front of his friends, and doesn't believe in marriage, let him go!
3. I didn't know I owed that much!--Creditors know your number, they know where you live, and they will never give up. It's much wiser to just let them know your situation and set up a payment plan.
5. I didn't know you heard that!--Quit talking about people behind their backs. It's going to get back to them and it's not wise to burn bridges
6. I didn't know my child acted like that!--Yes you did. If you do it, they probably do it too. If you want your kids to be great people, be a great person.
These are just a couple examples. I can think of many many more and I'm sure you can too. If you find yourself in a lot of unfortunate situations, chances are you are not living a very wise lifestyle. Be honest with yourself so that you can fix the problem. Pray and ask God for wisdom, and make sure you are reading your bible. You will be amazed at how many problems we can avoid when we take advantage of the knowledge God shares in his Holy Word.
I love you all. I know that I have personally been a victim of my own ignorance numerous times and with this message I hope to help you avoid similar pitfalls.
In times of trouble one of the most heard mantras is, "I didn't know!" But most times it is a poor excuse. We don't know because we don't want to know, we're too lazy to find out, or we think we're invincible and above the law. Thanks to nice parents and great customer service we have learned that most tough situations can be mollified by claiming ignorance. The sad thing is feined ignorance gives us a false sense of security. We never learn to take responsibility and when we are finally confronted with an issue that refuses to accept "I didn't know" as an excuse, we are caught off guard.
We get ourselves in trouble when we refuse to gain knowledge. This type of ignorance had dire consequences in the bible. In Luke 19, Jesus wept over Jerusalem saying,
If you had known, even you, especially in this your day,
the things that make for your peace! But now they are
hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you
when your enemies will build an embankment around you,
surround you and close you in on every side, and level
you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they
will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you
did not know the time of your visitation.
Luke 19:42-44 (NKJV)
Don't be misled into believing that Jesus was just being hypercritical. He held the city responsible because they should have known better. The Lord had already sent judges, prophets, teachers, and scriptures to inform the people of the Savior's arrival, but they refused to gain the knowledge. They were willfully ignorant and they suffered the consequences.
God did not call us to live this way. He gave us wisdom and good sense so that we could make responsible decisions and avoid harmful consequences. He even goes so far as to promise more wisdom for those who may be lacking (James 1:5).
Examples of willful ignorance
1. I didn't know it was so late!--If you have a problem being on time, it may be wise to set more alarms throughout the day and always leave at least15 minutes earlier than you think necessary.
2. I didn't know he was a dog!--If he doesn't go to church, disrespects his family, ignores you in front of his friends, and doesn't believe in marriage, let him go!
3. I didn't know I owed that much!--Creditors know your number, they know where you live, and they will never give up. It's much wiser to just let them know your situation and set up a payment plan.
5. I didn't know you heard that!--Quit talking about people behind their backs. It's going to get back to them and it's not wise to burn bridges
6. I didn't know my child acted like that!--Yes you did. If you do it, they probably do it too. If you want your kids to be great people, be a great person.
These are just a couple examples. I can think of many many more and I'm sure you can too. If you find yourself in a lot of unfortunate situations, chances are you are not living a very wise lifestyle. Be honest with yourself so that you can fix the problem. Pray and ask God for wisdom, and make sure you are reading your bible. You will be amazed at how many problems we can avoid when we take advantage of the knowledge God shares in his Holy Word.
I love you all. I know that I have personally been a victim of my own ignorance numerous times and with this message I hope to help you avoid similar pitfalls.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
CSN Giveaway!
Good morning family! I have wonderful news for you. God has shown us favor once more and this site was chosen to participate in a gift certificate giveaway from CSN Stores. CSN Stores is comprised of over 200 online stores that sell everything from modern dining room furniture to cookware and lighting fixtures!
All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a praise report in the comments section of this post. Every name will be entered into the drawing and the winner will be drawn and posted, Friday, January 14, 2011 at 9am cst. If you are the winner I will need your name and email address to send your gift certificate.
*Unfortunately we can only ship to the United States and Canada so the winner will have to come from one of those countries
Good luck and God bless!!
All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a praise report in the comments section of this post. Every name will be entered into the drawing and the winner will be drawn and posted, Friday, January 14, 2011 at 9am cst. If you are the winner I will need your name and email address to send your gift certificate.
*Unfortunately we can only ship to the United States and Canada so the winner will have to come from one of those countries
Good luck and God bless!!
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