UNFORGETTABLE Memories. . . . .

Imagine you are walking on a beautiful beach. As you walk on the sand you come to a stand still. There’s nobody around. If you look you will see the most wonderful blue sky with clouds hanging around, thus making it the most beautiful skyline, you’ve ever watched. You feel the breeze caress you and the waters come and gently sweep across your feet. As you continue with your eyes closed you hear the sound of the waves. You are reminded of the gentlest music that immediately soothes your soul. And you feel the peace that you’ve never felt before. Rest-in this peace and calm.

When faced with a disappointment, often we end up talking about it. We end up recounting (speaking) the situation to a number of people. It does not help to speak it. As you repeat the situation to a number of people-it makes it even more difficult to get over it. What you-don’t realize is each time you narrated the incident to someone, you got a little more frustrated than the last time. Each time, you spoke you believed in your situation.

If a person calms you down-then that would do you good. Most of the time-the people you speak to will only aggravate (make worse) the situation. What you need to do is when someone asks you, you answer, “It is better for me if I just don’t talk about it.”

You need to empower your situation by speaking life into that moment. Don’t speak life defeating thoughts. So often, I hear people talking bad about themselves and others. Don’t put yourself down. Love your life. It is after all a precious gift of God.

I love this song ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’, and this is the paragraph that I love. It does have a way of calming you down, oh just give it a look, will you? I promise you, you’re going to love it.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Everybody has to deal with anger from time to time. Anger is an emotion often characterized by feelings of great displeasure, hostility, wrath and vengeance. Anger begins with a feeling that’s often expressed in words or actions. We feel something and it causes a reaction.

Don’t store anger. Don’t put on a mask to hide the anger. It always helps to speak.

Whatever your situation in life, be it anger, irritation, rage anything that gets you out of order, just remember anger can mess up a good thing and leave you with regrets. A winner is the one who can take control of his temper.

Anger often stems out because of our feeling of lack or inadequacy. We need to know we are loved. Ephesians 4:26 states: "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down in your anger”. Its okay, to feel anger, but to express it in words or deeds, is a sin.

Faith begins by believing

in your heart that what is right has a chance.

Hope is a trust that life is good,
love is powerful, and the future is full of promise.

Love never fails.

When you love God-you will value your life, and you will understand the depth of God’s love for you. You will understand what it is to love everybody. And whenever situations rise up against you, you will rise with the strength of God in you.

Do whatever calms you, it could be imagining a walk on the beach or a song or maybe just thinking that everybody is a overgrown baby. That’s what I do. This makes it easy to love everyone. Okay, there are exceptions, but this is what Jesus, tells me ‘Love anyway’-(love no matter what).

In school, I loved reading the works of William Shakespeare. He was well versed with human emotions and he articulated his words well-You can break a heart in a second with just a word-and maybe mar (destroy) it for a lifetime.

When I heard Fr. William’s name 2 years back-I felt a hope. As he introduced himself in the church, of all the words he spoke the 3-I will never forget are, ‘FAITH, HOPE and LOVE’, (three of my favourites). He confirmed my hope.

Day 1:  18th September, 2012.   1313

Day 2:  19th September, 2012.   1313

Day 3:  20th September, 2012.   1313

On the 3rd day when I saw the number again it just was a reconfirmation. And what followed it on the third day, itself was the Reading from the 1st book of Corinthians 13:1-13.

Remember, the peace and calm that I spoke about in the first paragraph. That peace will only last for some time. Life is filled with various moments. Moments that can snatch that peace come with no warning sign or label attached to it.

When we learn to trust God, we place all our fears in His hands. When we surrender and walk in Gods will-He will fill us with a Peace that the world cannot destroy.

I say a prayer for you-

May you wake up to a wonderful sunrise, 

May the moon remind you of the beautiful phases of love, 

May you never fail to see the beauty around you,

May you spread your wings and fly like a butterfly,

May you always have a heart full of love, and

May your life be filled with UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES!

This is my prayer for you! 

I wish you all this and LOVE!

 

God’s love is absolutely unstoppable. Nothing can diminish His loving pursuit of us. Psalm 139:5,7–8: “Thou has beset me behind and before…. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there”.

David’s saying, no matter where I am, Lord—no matter how blessed I feel, or how low my condition is—You’re there. I can’t get away from Your unstoppable love. You never accept my arguments about how unworthy I am. Even when I’m taking Your grace for granted—You never stop loving me. Your love for me is unstoppable!

Paul testified that even during those hate-filled years—while he was blindly slaughtering Christ’s disciples—God loved him. Paul wrote, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”-Romans 5:8. He says God kept coming after me in love, until that day when He literally knocked me off my horse. That was the unstoppable love of God.

Paul was convinced that God would love him fervently to the end, through all his highs and lows. He stated, “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”-Romans 8:38–39. Paul declares, nothing can separate me from God's love.

1 Corinthians 13 Paul tells us that love is the greatest. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love". 1 Corinthians 13:13.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"-Hebrews. 11:1. Faith is our belief in something we cannot see but know it exists (it is-I pray and I know it is). It is a knowing-I know, that I Know, that I know, that I know. 

Consider the promise that was made to Abraham. "He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith" Romans 4:20. Faith is what sustains someone until the thing they believe in actually comes to pass.

Hope-is a feeling that what is wanted will happen. We have hope because of our faith. Our faith is what drives our hope. Romans 4:18 "contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations". Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac his son was born. His Hope became a reality!

1 John 4:8 states "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love". God is eternal; therefore, love is eternal. We must have love for God and for one another. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son"-John 3:16. God's love for us was great enough to sacrifice His Son.

FAITH

• Faith knows that whatever God says, He will do. God is faithful.
• Faith knows that God rewards you if you seek Him with all your heart. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
• Patience is an essential ingredient of faith. When you pray according to the will of God, you know that you will have the petition you asked for. God's timing is not necessarily your timing.
• Faith means always believing. Fix your gaze on Jesus.
• Faith sees the Hand of God in every situation.

SETTING FAITH

Set your heart to trust God in everything, at all times-having an unshakable faith.

When you set your faith by bringing every burden and trial to Christ, leaving everything at His feet and resting in faith, you are going to be severely tested.

LOVE-HURTS

On the last day, Jesus will say to those on His right hand, "Come, enter the Kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was sick and you visited me." Then Jesus will turn to those on His left hand and say, "Depart from me because I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me to drink, I was sick and you did not visit me." These will ask Him, "When did we see You hungry, or thirsty or sick and did not come to Your help?" And Jesus will answer them, "Whatever you neglected to do unto one of these least of these, you neglected to do unto Me!"

Jesus said: "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." He came not to give the peace of the world but to give the peace of the heart which comes from loving - from doing good to others.

’Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends’-John 15:13. 

Jesus died for you and for me. Jesus gave up everything to do His Father's will-to show us that we too must be willing to give up everything to do God's will.

Love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them.

The Scripture reads: "Even if a mother could forget the child in her womb, I will never forget you."

God will never forget us. We can keep the joy of loving Jesus in our hearts and make it a point - that no one will be unwanted, unloved, uncared. And give until it hurts - with a smile.

Let us pray that we grow in love for each other, and through this love become holy as Jesus wants us to be for He died out of love for us.

"So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."-1 Corinthians 13:13

When looking at this verse, it is also great to hear other translations of it.

"And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity."-1 Corinthians 13:13

The difference between these two-The word charity is used with love.

When we give of ourselves, whether it be to the poor, the sick, or to anyone else, we are giving out of love. Charity is the ultimate expression of our love for our fellow man. For our charity to truly have an impact, it must draw its power from the love in our hearts.

Charity is the act of giving of oneself without any expectation of anything in return. When we love, this same principle applies. Our love should be freely given without expecting anything in return.

Faith is our belief in an Almighty God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Hope is our belief in the saving power of grace. Love is the foundation of our faith in Christ and the hope we find in His sacrifice.

"We [Paul, Silas & Timothy] continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 3

Work produced by faith, labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope...

Our labour is prompted by love-Love for God and love for others. Love must always be our motivation, foundation, guiding principle and constant expression. If we fail to love, everything around us crumbles. If we serve and if our labour is prompted by love, we will never fail.

Hope keeps us going. It inspires us and helps us to persevere and endure. Fixing my eyes on Jesus and focusing on things with eternal value keeps me going, especially when the going gets tough. This hope is not wishful thinking but confidence in who God is and what He has said and done. It is hope, based on the character of God who never changes or makes a mistake.

 

CONCLUSION: In our own families we may have somebody who is feeling lonely, or totally neglected. Are we there? Are we willing to give until it hurts in order to be with our families, or do we put our own interests first? These are the questions we must ask ourselves? We must remember that love begins at home, and we must also remember that 'the future of humanity passes through the family.'

REMEMBER: Love is not without sacrifice. When we choose to love someone, it will cost us something.

Corinthians 14:1 says, Eagerly pursue-(means to follow) and seek-(means to try to find) to acquire love [make it your aim, your great quest]

We need to go after love with all our strength and act as if we cannot live without it.

View love as your top priority in life. Pursue and acquire it, because God’s Word boldly tells us that we’re nothing without it.

PRAYER: Abba, Father. Your will in me be done. Keep me always obedient and faithful to You, I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

Key to Boldness

We all want to be accepted. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you can’t let the opinions of others distract you from what God has called you to be.

You don’t have to worry about what everyone else thinks about you. As long as you’re being true to what God has put in your heart. Stay focused on God.

Whatever path you take in life not everyone is going to cheer you on. Not everybody is going to be happy for you. Somebody will start finding a fault. In our everyday life we will see somebody who would love to bring somebody down-and that could be a friend or some one who is close. Don’t focus on pleasing people because, you’ll start changing and lose sight of what God has placed in your heart.

Don’t get distracted by people who are never going to affirm you. Don’t take it personally. It’s not about you. It’s their problem. We can’t always be liked by everyone.

So many people live life worried about what everyone else thinks and wondering how they can impress other people. But we have to realize that when we come to the end of life, we are going to stand before the Almighty God. God is going to ask, Did you become who I created you to be?

Don’t forfeit your destiny in order to please people. Pleasing God is all that matters when all is said and done!

Be true to who God created you to be. Don’t wear a mask. Don’t join a bunch of people who backtalk against each other. Because what becomes a habit-could then end up hurting you. Avoid gossip, it’s not good for the soul. Back biting did no good for any one.

Don’t be afraid to disappoint somebody. It’s your life-which is a gift of God. And God created you as His masterpiece, not somebody’s donkey. Don’t be who someone wants you to be, become all that and more of God’s expectations for you.

In life, there will always be people who try to pressure you into being who they want you to be. They may be good people. If you’re going to be all that God created you to be, you can’t focus on what everybody else thinks. If you change with every criticism, trying to win the favour of others, then you’ll go through life being manipulated. You have to realize that you can’t keep every person happy. You can’t make everyone like you. You’ll never win over all of your critics.

Ask the Lord if your ways are pleasing to Him. If people don’t understand you, that’s okay. If you lose some friends because you wouldn’t let them control you, they weren’t true friends anyway. You don’t need other people’s approval; you only need Almighty God’s approval.

Keep your heart and mind submitted to Him and be free from people pleasing!

Shake it off, be great anyway.

Greatness in the midst of criticism begins with forgiveness. Don’t hold a grudge. Bless those who curse you; pray for those who spitefully use you.

As you keep doing what is right, God will honor you.

REMEMBER: Honour and Shame from no conditions rise, act well your part there all your honour lies!

The more someone is with Jesus, the more that person becomes like Christ, in purity, holiness and love.

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion”. Proverbs 28:1

Holy boldness comes from a pure heart wanting to please God.

Proverbs 28:1 explains that the wicked person runs away though no one is chasing him, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

HOLY BOLDNESS IS:

• A gift from God to those who are in a right relationship with Him.
• Obeying God.
• Fearlessly presenting the truth.
• Lead by the Holy Spirit to go where and when God desires
• Anointed and appointed by God.
• Using God-given talents and privileges as tools to use for the sake of the gospel message and the common good.

  

When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she had found favour with God and was to conceive the son of the Most High, Mary responded “let it be to me as you say.” She embraced her destiny in faith, believing that God would do as He said and accepting God’s divine Will. In sum, because she had surrendered her life to God, she was humbly able to accept her role. It was a role that Simeon later prophesied would cause her heart to be pierced as with a sword.

The Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55 also reveals that Mary was humble. To both the angel and to Elizabeth she refers to herself as a “handmaid.” It would be best translated today as “servant” or “slave.” Mary was obedient and accepted her role. The only miracle she ever asked of Jesus was that He save a wedding from the embarrassment of not having wine for their guests.

We are all called in some way to serve God in this world, and to do so with no expectation.

But all of us die a bit internally when we know we should take a stand, but do not. When we simply must speak out, but refuse.

Whenever we take a stand we must not forget to love. We must always look back at our boldness. “Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, ‘You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven…” Mark 10:21. Before challenging this man to give up everything, Jesus looks at him, and loves him.

A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, 
A never dying soul to save and fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill; 
O may it all my powers engage, To do my Master’s will;
Arm me with jealous care, As in thy sight to live; 
And, oh, thy servant, Lord prepare a strict account to give;
Help me to watch and pray, And on thyself rely, 
And let me ne’er my trust betray, But press to realms on high.

Through Calvary—we know of —Gods love for us.

We must desire to serve Him by taking up the cross and be crucified with Christ. Success in serving God demands a willingness to endure rejection, humiliation and death to self. A crucified person can afford to be bold.

Boldness springs from having nothing to lose by stating what is right.

We don't want others to think us strange yet those who belong to God have always been burdened with the responsibility of being peculiar.

Holy boldness, on the other hand, entails more than bravery to act and speak. When David faced Goliath, he was more impressed that God was his advocate than Goliath was his opponent. David's boldness was confidence in God and reliance on God's strength and wisdom. Holy boldness is attended by wisdom.

The Bold do not fear the disapproval of others. They only fear the Lord and want His approval. They behave rightly because their souls are in tune with God.

The wicked behave in a cowardly manner to preserve as much of this life as they can, because in their consciences they know that they deserve adversity. The righteous move ahead in confidence because of a clear conscience.

The time has come when all Christians must choose to act on what we know to be right. We must boldly use God's message. For God, we must become lions.

"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Thessalonians 1:2

1. Paul was full of the joy of the Lord. No earth-born trial could quench it, for it was Heaven-born; it was' the joy of the Lord' poured into his heart with the Holy Spirit.

2. Paul was a Bold Preacher. Boldness is a fruit of righteousness, and is always found in those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Boldness thrives when selfishness is destroyed.

God commands His people to be courageous, and makes spiritual leaders only of those who possess courage. Joshua 1:9

The prophets were men of the highest courage, who fearlessly rebuked kings at the risk of life. And called the people back to righteousness and the faithful service of God. These men feared God, thus losing the fear of man. They believed God and so obeyed Him.

3. Paul spoke right out of his heart. Since God had honoured him with this infinite trust of preaching the gospel, he sought to preach it that he should please God regardless of men. Paul was to deliver his message (the Gospel). This was his great-commission(instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to His disciples that they spread His teachings to all the nations of the world) from God, and it is God who will try his heart and prove his ministry.

4. Paul was free from all vanity, and so is every man who is filled with the Holy Spirit. 

5. With all his boldness and faithfulness Paul was Gentle. And as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are gentle, so will be the servant of the Lord who is filled with the Spirit.

6. Paul preached not himself, but a crucified Christ, without the shedding of whose Blood there is no remission of sins; and through that precious Blood he preached present cleansing from all sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit for all who obediently believe.

And this love kept him faithful and humble and true to the end, so that at last he cried out:. . I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

When you stand on God’s WORD, you are standing on an unshakable foundation...you are on holy ground and nothing, no man and no devil can touch you! When you know GOD and fear HIM, you cannot and will not submit to anything or anyone else. But, to get this boldness, you have to live in the WORD of GOD. When you know what the WORD says, you know how to answer the enemy when he tests you, just as he did our LORD. And when you know how to answer him, you know how to resist his attempts and renounce his ways, so that you can walk freely and boldly. You resist the devil with the sword of the SPIRIT, which is the WORD of GOD. You resist him by not doing what he wants you to do, and by moving forward when he tries to still you with fear. You resist him by believing what GOD says and not what he says. “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:6

Being bold means being wise enough to know when to be quiet. And confident enough to answer when your faith is questioned. GOD is looking for such a man that would dare to speak what GOD speaks to him, rather than bowing down to fear.

One of the characteristics of a righteous man is holy boldness. Holy boldness is not relenting, standing steadfast, unmoving and headstrong for CHRIST. We can't say that GOD is LORD over something and give man supremacy in others. The day that the fear of a man, overrides your fear of the LORD, you have esteemed that man higher than GOD. Because when you fear something, you are submitting to it.

Many today will not dare lift a word of truth against the evil practices of another, simply because they fear retaliation.

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth..." When you know you have done wrong, you think everybody else knows it too. God had said that if His people strayed from His Word, they would have this condition of fear in their midst.

The boldness of a lion is here compared with a believer. Having confessed Jesus as the Son of God and believed in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we were saved and we received the righteousness of God.

Let us consider the confidence a lion has. He is the king of the beasts. A lion is not afraid of any animal. If he is hungry, he'll go after almost anything.

Think of some of the men in the Word of God, such as Daniel, Moses, Elijah, Paul, Jesus; do we have courage like they manifested? They knew they were righteous, and so they were bold and fearless as lions. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He has given us the spirit of love, and of power, and of a sound mind. Therefore we can be fearless and daring just like the lion. We as believers need to have some courage and daring upon the Word of God.

"We were bold in our God." That is where our boldness must be. We must be bold to the end of speaking about the good news. Paul was bold in one thing: "...in our God." You cannot find a better basis than that.

Our boldness is also to be manifested towards God.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way..." Hebrews 10:19-20.We must make the effort to come boldly before our Father. "And this is the confidence [boldness] that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" I John 5:14. And the particular area of boldness towards Him stated here is that if we ask anything of Him according to His will, He hears us. Then we know that we have the petition that we desired of Him. Yes, the righteous are bold as a lion.

Remember, you have boldness already. Now rise up and manifest it for the glory of God.

CONCLUSION: Holy boldness, combined with love while being rooted in Christ, will change the world. Together, let us seek this boldness, with humility to admit when we have crossed the line or failed to love and readiness to always get back up again, and let us be bold for the Kingdom.

REMEMBER: God resists the proud, but grace is given unto the humble. To be great in God’s Kingdom, you must First Be a SERVANT.

PRAYER:  Abba Father, Teach me to do your will always. Keep me always obedient and faithful I pray. Never let go.

my sweet JESUS . . . . .

We had heavy showers on the 3rd of September a day I will never forget. Water had accumulated in all the areas, so yes that made it a little bit difficult to walk on certain roads.

Before that fateful day, I wondered what it would be like to have the church with just two or three people attending mass. As I entered I prayed that there would be more people coming in. Thank God, there were twelve of us, I think. I enjoyed the mass-celebration. I did!

Do you know the feeling of attending mass with kids? Maybe you do and maybe you don’t. But the feeling is awesome. Imagine Paradise. Imagine all the angels……….  We hear kids talk. But some of them can really move your heart. I loved every moment being around them.

Today, the 10th of September, I just was playing with my neighbour’s baby, and she caught on to my finger so tight with her hand. I could cry. Not out of sadness-simply out of gratitude to God. Throughout the day-that is what I felt-that is what I wished in my thoughts. God takes care of every little wish. God does.

A friend of mine has been through quiet a tough time in her life. Her daughter has been her moral support-through it all. This is what she said when speaking to me: “Every mother needs to have a daughter”-The sentence was not a planned one-it was heartfelt. I took a chair, got myself seated next to her-and looked up to her with admiration.

There is this one instance when we were kids, and we had to go on holidays. I think it was a Maundy Thursday, we attended to the mass and had to leave to the airport before the final blessing. We reached in time. The airport had some security concerns, and so the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. My mother realized that we were wrong to leave the church in a hurry without God’s blessings. Something I always remember. God is never in a hurry. My point being-don't make substitutes for God. Keep God 1st place.

Often in the struggles of life, we will get weary. But that is when we choose to walk alone.

Often we do not realize to involve God in all matters of life.

Often we give up! Often we condemn ourselves. 
Too often we do not see ourselves - the way we need to see ourselves.

By myself I can do nothing.

So whatever you are holding on to-don’t. Let go and let God take charge. With Him you will never fail.

No matter how impossible your situation looks-or no matter what people have told you-I’m telling you-'Nothing is impossible with God.'

The situation you are facing may Cry out:  IMPOSSIBLE!

But you shout out: ‘I SERVE A GOD OF IMPOSSIBLES!’

With God IMPOSSIBILITIES become REALITIES!

Remember: Come to Jesus! He is waiting with His arms wide open! Come Closer!

Here’s to LOVE!

God made us and we are His people. We celebrate God because He has given us our very own lives we experience. He has given us the gift of salvation.

God’s love is declared in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

God is faithful past, present, and future!

Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 1:20, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God."

We celebrate God because we know that all the promises of God have found their completion in Jesus Christ! We celebrate because of what He has done for us and this allows us, to persevere until the end. We are called to celebrate God and live a life of praise and worship!

God is calling us to a life of action—a life of love, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, joy, and praise!

When we are confronted by the love of God, then everything changes at the deepest core level of who we are and why we do what we do. Our lives become a celebration of God’s faithfulness; His covenant-love in Jesus Christ!

 
In our everyday life we hear things like: “you aren’t good enough,” “when will you be like (----),”“you’ll never count to anything,” “you’re not worthy,” etc.

The Lord is calling you to enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. He wants to hear the praises of His people. All the feelings of inadequacy can be left as you enter because in God’s house there is only room for praise. In God’s house, “You are enough, the only one you have to be like is Jesus, through Him you will have enough strength, BECAUSE of Him you do count, and IN Him you are worthy.

The Lord’s goodness and love is waiting for you. He wants to pour it out on you in abundance. The Bible says that God’s love and faithfulness will endure through every generation. Wow! No one can ever offer you more than God! May you celebrate the goodness, love, and faithfulness of God every day!

My topic today is taken from one of the most beloved psalms-to coincide with this being my 100th topic. 'A Psalm for giving thanks.'-PSALM 100. I would like to focus our attention on the last verse, which gives us three reasons to praise God: 
“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations"(Psalm 100:5).

"For the Lord is good". God loved us and then He cared enough to send His Son to die for us. God is good all the time.

"and His love endures forever;". God’s mercy is not like the weather. It does not change with the seasons. And it does not depend on you or on anything you may do. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. His mercy is so great and His love so free that it is truly infinite and everlasting.

We see God’s love and mercy most clearly at the cross. If you ever ask Jesus, ‘Do you love me?’ And then you give a look at the Cross, you will never need to ask again, I promise. There you will find grace unmeasured, mercy undeserved and an everlasting love.

“His faithfulness continues through all generations.” The final phrase speaks of God’s promise to us.

God is true in Himself. There is no deceit and no falsehood in Him. He is true in all His promises.

No changes, however great, can produce any changes in Him. All things happen  according to His divine plan. There are no mistakes with the Lord. God is continuously working behind the scenes.

Consider the final phrase: “through all generations.” Exodus 20:6 tells us that God shows His love to “a thousand generations” of those who love Him. God’s love and faithfulness go far beyond any human understanding.

Because God is faithful, we can trust Him.

If you are weary, if you are discouraged, if you need a fresh start, if you know your life is going nowhere, if you want to know God, then-

May God give you faith to believe and wings to fly to the cross. He is a wonderful Savior to those who trust in Him. Amen.

     

Do you have a thankful heart?

Motivation to be thankful

• We serve the one true and sovereign God. He loves us unconditionally and forgives our sins.
• God equips us with spiritual gifts to fulfill the specific plans He has for our lives.
• Jesus intercedes on our behalf.

We need to have a thankful heart in every area of our lives.

Impact of a thankful heart

• Godliness-because we are aware of His presence
• Look for His purpose.
• Submission to His will, even when we don’t understand
• A reminder of our dependence on Him
• Joy and contentment instead of fear and anxiety
• Focus on God in difficult times
• Transformation of our attitude toward others
• Supernatural energy 

The Power of a Thankful Heart

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."   I Thessalonians 5:16-18

We need to always give thanks, in order to see God's will accomplished in our lives.

Thanksgiving breaks the power of the enemy. When you give thanks in the midst of difficulty, you bring pleasure to God's heart. Satan is defeated when we have a thankful heart because thankfulness during difficulty is a sacrifice pleasing to God.

Thankfulness is a key to your life. It is the key that turns your situation around because it changes you, your outlook, and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart.

Thanksgiving Brings Contentment

Thank God for all the blessings He has given you instead of dwelling on the negative. To love God is to love His will. It is to be content with His.

Jesus followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul says that we should have the same attitude. Jesus made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. We also are to have this same attitude with a humble and thankful acceptance of God's will for our lives.

Offer God a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving

"Give Praise." This is a lesson for all of us; if we would learn to be people of praise and thanksgiving all the days of our lives it would be a great accomplishment.

David said in Psalm 116:17, "I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord." Let each of us seek to have an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, rising to a new level of holiness in our lives. 

What are you grateful for?

Choosing gratitude gives us the chance to recognize God’s bounteous provision in our lives.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.—James 1:17

Every good gift. Just think about that for a moment. The house you live in, the air you breath, the food that you pulled out of your refrigerator for breakfast, your spouse, these are all good and perfect gifts, given to you out of love from your Heavenly Father.

To cultivate a grateful heart:

• The habit of gratitude will transform your life. Take nothing for granted. There is reason to thank God every minute of every day, but it requires our attention and intention.

• Every blessing we experience comes to us from the hand of a personal, loving God who is arranging the events of our lives so that we might know and commune with Him. We are owed nothing, but are given everything.

• Our lives that we live-are not our own, but God's.

Thankfulness is at the heart of a worshipper. When we come to worship we can't help but thank God for who He is and what He has done.

Isn't it interesting we are willing to wait for hours, standing in line, to catch a glimpse of some celebrity - yet we think nothing of running into the presence of God? Psalm 100 shows us the pathway into God's presence.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations. PSALM 100

"Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth" (PS100:1).

When we come to worship GOD - As we walk down the path to worship God, we simply cannot be quiet. We shout for joy because the Lord is among us.

"Serve the Lord with gladness" (PS100:2).

We glorify God by ascribing to him the honor and adoration due Him because He is God.

"Come before Him with joyful songs” (PS100:2).

Our shouts will turn to song. Through our singing we approach God. Music stirs the emotions and expresses our hearts. It is part of the praise that prepares the heart and sets the stage for the encounter with God.

"Acknowledge that the Lord is God" (PS100:3).

We remind ourselves as to who God is, and, at the same time, we are reminded of who we are, too. He is the Creator; we are the created. He is the shepherd; we are the sheep.

We need to acknowledge Him in worship.

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" (PS100:4).

As we enter God's presence we enter His gates with thanksgiving - here we thank God for what He has done. Once through the gates, the worshiper enters the courts with praise - here we extol God for who He is. One gets a sense of movement ever moving closer into the presence of God.

Praise is not worship. It sets the stage for worship. Praise is the way into worship, and worship is the way into an encounter with the living God.

God is everywhere (omnipresence). God's revealed presence occurs when we worship God. God has chosen to manifest Himself in the praises of his people.

"Give thanks to Him" (PS100:4).

Give thanks to God and praise Him are stated twice.

"Praise His name!" (PS100:4).

The word praise means to show honor and homage to God. True worship always involves falling at the feet of God.

Why on our knees? Because we are in the presence of the King.

What do we know about the name - the person, the nature - of God? The Psalmist reminds us that "The Lord is good"; He is gracious and kind. "His love (or mercy) is eternal" (PS100:5). The word for love means covenant love. God has bound us to Himself in a covenant that He will never revoke or abandon. "His faithfulness endures through all generations" (PS100:5). He does not change His purpose or break His word.

Worship is encountering the person of God as revealed by His name.

Worship is an audience with the King. When we come to worship we come to meet the king of the universe. And, like an earthly king, there is certain protocol that we must follow to meet Him.

CONCLUSION:Thankfulness is contagious. It creates an atmosphere that is more positive and makes you a more likable and pleasant person to be around.

So if you're feeling low, like things never seem to go your way, get up and say thank-you, search for things to be thankful for. Even when something bad happens you can find something to be grateful for, whether it is a lesson that you learned from the experience, or someone you met because of it. Learn to thank God, thank others, thank yourself...be thankful...learn to develop a thankful heart. THANK-YOU!

 

REMEMBER: In worship we acknowledge who God is and what our relationship to Him is. God is Sovereign...

"Love" is God’s covenant. Generation after generation continue to experience His faithfulness.

We belong to the Lord. He is our Creator and our Redeemer. We have known His faithfulness and love. Let’s shout out our joyful thanks to Him so that others will know Him too!

PRAYER: Abba Father, I thank you for everything. Keep me obedient and faithful. In Jesus’ name Amen.

“Come and hear, all you who fear God let me tell you what he has done for me I cried out to him with my mouth his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” Psalm 66:16-20

Promise Date: 8th September, 2012. Matthew 1:23-Emmanuael.