GOD'S CODE

A TV camera crew was on assignment in Southern Florida filming the widespread destruction of Hurricane Andrew. In one scene, amid the devastation and debris stood one house on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when the reporter approached. "Sir, why is your house the only one standing?" asked the reporter. "How did you manage to escape the severe damage of the hurricane?" "I built the house myself," the man replied. "I also built it according to Florida State building code. When the code called for 2x6 trusses, I used 2x6 trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did, and it did." How about you? Are you living according to God's code or God's word? Or are you playing with the worlds' standard and making it your our own standard? We're now seeing the signs of the times. That's why you need to be vigilant in memorizing and meditating God's word. God would like you to live base on a solid commitment to His words and His ways. So today, make a commitment to live fully according to God's code by memorizing and meditating scriptures. And teach your loved ones to do the same. Inspiring them to memorize and meditate is one of the greatest inheritance you can give to them. Make your life not just liveable but memorable. Here's how you can begin.

...BE WARM AND COMFORTABLE

In his book The Pursuit of Excellence, Ted Engstrom wrote these words: "I was cleaning out a desk drawer when I found a flashlight I hadn't used in over a year. I flipped the switch, but wasn't surprised when it gave no light. I unscrewed it and shoot it to get the batteries out, but they wouldn't budge. Finally, after some effort, they came loose. What a mess! Battery acid had corroded the entire inside of the flashlight. The batteries were new when I'd put them in, and I'd stored them in a safe, warm place. But there was one problem. Those batteries weren't made to be warm and comfortable. They were designed to be turned on -- to be used." It's the same with us. We weren't created to be warm and comfortable. God designed you to Glorify His Name in whatever that you do. Unfortunately, the enemy is out there to derail God’s great plan for you. The enemy is looking for someone to devour and you have to fight back. That’s why each morning, it is IMPORTANT to meditate your memory verse. It’s your protection from any attack of the enemy. One of my morning memory verses is from Ephesians 6:10 that say "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." It’s short but powerful if you’ll meditate it sincerely. Make it your memory verse too. Remember, you can always hit the enemy back with God’s word.

LAZINESS IN A SIN

An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening taking life easy. After a long silence, the wife said: "Jed, I think it's raining. Why don't you get up and go outside and see?" The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire for a while, sighed and then said, "Aw, Ma, why don't we just call in the dog and see if he's wet." That's what you call the height of laziness. And I wouldn't want to say that we are downright lazy, but we all have a lazy streak in us. And laziness is a faith killer. If you're too lazy to open and read your Bible... If you're too lazy to pray and be thankful to God... If you're too lazy to memorize and meditate scriptures... Read this: You Are In A Big Trouble! Laziness is a good indicator that you're slipping away from the hands of God. How to break this laziness in you? Start moving! Simply choose one Bible verse and start memorizing it. Start moving and bring your faith to the next level. .

TRUST GOD

There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: "pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need". Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didn't work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: "after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveller." The man refilled the jug and added to the note: " Please prime the pump, believe me it works"! We have the same choice to make, do we hold on to what we have because we don't believe there are better things in store for us, and settle for immediate satisfaction? Or do we trust God and give up all that we have to get what God has promised us? I think the choice is obvious. We need to pour in all the water, trust God with everything. Now, you may be thinking..."But trusting God is easier said than done." And I agree. That's why you need to constantly read your Bible, memorize, and meditate its message. The reason being...regularly meditating your memory verse helps to build up your faith in God and you learn to trust Him more. Studying and meditating the Scripture is a powerful habit that some Christians have not developed that's why some fail to grow spiritually. Now if you're ready to bring your faith to a higher level through scripture memorization... In the end, life is about choices. It's your choice to remain in your level of faith or your choice to grow maturely in Christ.

Now it's your turn to grow spiritually.

Now it's your turn to grow spiritually. Imagine a sponge that has been used to wash the dishes. It's all full of dirt and food and old water. It needs to be filled with clean water! But how can you do that? Easy. You wring it out, rinse it off, and wring it out again. Only when you have done this can you fill it with clean water. It's the same with the Spirit. Here we are, all full of sin and grime and filth. There is no room for Him. But once all the filth has been removed, and we have been emptied, the Spirit can come and fill us anew.

PRISONERS OF FEAR.

Shohoiya Yokowai spent 28 years of his life in prison. It was not a prison of bars & locks & wardens, but a self-imposed prison of fear. He was a Japanese soldier on the island of Guam during WW2. And when the American forces landed, he fled into the jungle & found a cave in which he hid for 28 years because he was afraid of being captured by the Americans. He learned that the war was over by reading one of the thousands of pamphlets dropped into the jungle. But he was afraid. So for 28 years he lived in the cave, coming out only at night to look for roaches & rats & frogs & mangoes on which he survived. Finally some natives found him & convinced him that it would be all right for him to come out of his jungle prison. We think, "What a waste! Imagine, spending 28 years living as a prisoner of fear." Yet, there are a lot of people who are prisoners of fear. Fears like... fear of failing fear of succeeding fear of disappointing people fear of losing our child fear of the unknown fear of dying Frankly, I can have a long list of different fears that people have. They're not aware of it simply because they call "fear" with a different name. How about you? Do you have fear that's preventing God to fully bless your life? Are you trying to control your life instead of letting God have His way? Listen, the best way to overcome your fear is to have a strong faith in God and you do this by regularly meditating scripture. In Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." No doubt, in developing your faith there's no better substitute to scripture memorization and meditation. So I encourage you to take action, be bold, and make a decision now to start STUDYING the scriptures. Faith requires action and the more that you delay your decision to study and memorize scriptures the harder it's to grow your faith.

Now is the time to bring your faith to a HIGHER level.

Oil was discovered on some Oklahoma property belonging to an elderly Indian. All his life he had been poverty stricken, just eking out a living. But the discovery of oil had suddenly made him a very wealthy man. The first thing he bought was a very big Cadillac. He wanted the longest car in the county, so he added four spare tires on the trunk. He would dress up in his new clothes and everyday he would take his Cadillac into the hot dusty little town nearby. He wanted to see everyone and he wanted everyone to see him. He was a friendly old soul so when he was riding through town he would turn in all directions to wave at all the people as he rolled by. Interesting enough, he never ran into anybody nor into anything. The reason for this was that directly in front of that big beautiful auto was two horses harnessed to it and pulling it. There was nothing wrong with the car's engine. It was because the old Indian had never learned to drive it. He had never learned how to insert the key into the ignition switch and turn it on. Under the hood was 100 plus horsepower ready and willing and raring to go, but the old Indian was content to use the two horsepower hooked to the front of the car. The devil gets really happy (or as happy as a devil can get) when he can keep the believer chugging along in their Christian life on a two horse power faith level. At that rate, the spiritual progress is slowed down to a crawl, and this is what the devil is after in his warfare with us. In short, if your faith is not growing, it's definitely shrinking and the devil would like to keep it that way. Now is the time to bring your faith to a HIGHER level.

"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light"

"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30, NKJV) Sometimes it may be hard to accept, but God is never in favor of having you go through life always struggling, having to go down on your knees due to the burden of your responsibilities, or else always going against something, an ideal or a principle. Nothing feels right anymore. Yes, challenges and obstacles are to be expected, but as a self-respecting Christian you cannot just settle for where you are and accept that things will always stay the same. You must have faith that God has something better in store for your future, because that is the undeniable truth. The secret is that when difficulties come your way, instead of being in a depressed state telling yourself that it's never going to get any better, turn around, do the right thing and look up to Him. Look up to the heavens and surrender your problems to God, because He is watching you, all the time. He sees you and your problems. Cast your cares to God. Victory will come because it's already been promised in the Holy Bible. Believe in the Promised Land, Christian, and soon the Promised Land will be yours.

IT'S THAT IMPORTANT

Neil Orchard was talking with a farmer about his soy bean and corn crops. Rain had been abundant, and the results were evident. So his comment surprised him: "My crops are especially vulnerable. Even a short drought could have a devastating effect." "Why?" Orchard asked. He explained that while we see the frequent rains as a benefit, during that time the plants are not required to push roots deeper in search of water. The roots remain near the surface. A drought would find the plants unprepared and quickly kill them. Some Christians receive abundant "rains" of worship, fellowship, and teaching. Yet when stress enters their lives, many suddenly abandon God or think him unfaithful. Their roots have never pushed much below the surface. Remember this, only roots grown deep into Jesus Christ help us endure times of drought in our lives. So don't neglect the power of studying the word of God, confessing the word of God,memorizing and meditating scriptures every single day. Scripture reading, confession, meditation, memorization etc. is a discipline that will help your roots to push below the surface. How close you want to be with God is a matter of choice. Will you give Him room in your time through reading and meditation? It's your choice.

TAKE YOUR CASE TO GOD

The two main excuses most people give for not praying are that they don't have time and they don't have a place to go. Susanna Wesley, who was the mother of John and Charles Wesley back in the 1700, had 19 children. If anybody had an excuse for not praying but a need to pray it was her. Susanna would spend an hour every day in prayer. Where does a mother of 19 go to escape? Nowhere! What she would do is take her apron and flip it up over her head and spend an hour in prayer. Her children knew not to disturb her in that time because mother was in her apron praying. How about you? Are you making the same excuses? Finally, you can now break the obstacles that are preventing you have a regular prayer time with God so you can... ...Draw closer to God ...Gain peace ...Grow spiritually Beloved, if you've been struggling to eliminate distractions and maximize the effectiveness of your Quiet Time, take your case to God and He will settle you.

All Things Work

Roman 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. Why do bad things happen to good people? If you have often pondered that problem you are not alone here is only one answer. God allows bad thing to happen to is people only if He sees a way of turning the bad into greater good. Almighty God, make known the riches of your glory on the vessels of mercy, which you had prepared beforehand for glory for in Jesus name.

LIFE ONLY MAKE SENSE

Life only makes sense only when we learn to see it from God’s point of view. This is what turned the tide for Job, and this is what will turn the tide for you. Is life unfair to you? Then look at it from God’s perspective. Now what do you see?