God's Word For Today: Don’t Let Fear Stop You (1)

‘He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.’

Philippians 1:6


Has God called you to do something you don’t feel capable of doing? Could you think of a dozen others better suited for the job? It doesn’t matter what you think, God didn’t choose somebody else! He chose you in spite of your limitations and insecurities. Your inadequacies don’t surprise Him. In fact, His ‘power works best in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT).

Jon Walker says: ‘You may…hide your weaknesses from others, but you can’t hide them from God. He created you (do you think He made a mistake?). He created you with weaknesses to keep you on your knees…without them to push you back to God you’ll get prideful…and He won’t allow you to use them as an excuse for avoiding your mission or ignoring your purpose.

If God is calling you to a monumental task, He will equip you to complete it – and that includes the Holy Spirit working from inside you. So focus on His strength, not yours. Don’t think about how incapable you are for the task. Remember, God is bigger than anything you face, no matter how overwhelming it may appear.’ The Bible says we were ‘created in Christ…to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10 NIV 2011 Edition).

God’s plans are never an afterthought. He designed you for a specific purpose, and the One who ‘began a good work in you will carry it on to completion’.

So instead of letting fear stop you, let it motivate you to get up and get going!

Gen 10-12, Matt 4

God's Word For Today: Invoke God’s Blessing upon Your Life

‘He who invokes a blessing on himself…shall do so by saying, May the God of truth and fidelity [the Amen] bless me.’

Isaiah 65:16

The word ‘invoke’ implies these two things:

1) to make an earnest request for, or to solicit;
2) to put into effect or operation, or to implement.

With that in mind, read this Scripture: ‘[It shall be] that he who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by saying, May the God of truth and fidelity [the Amen] bless me; and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth and faithfulness to His promises [the Amen], because the former troubles are forgotten.’

That’s a powerful promise!

Even as God, our Father, spoke the world into existence, we too can use the Scriptures to frame the world we will live in. When you speak the blessing of God over your life, you ‘make an earnest request and solicit it’. And you also ‘put it into effect or operation, and implement it’. This is why God told Moses to bless the Israelites with these words: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV). Then God added, ‘And I will bless them’ (v. 27 NKJV).

Now you can understand why speaking God’s Word over your life can change things for the better, and why the Bible says, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue’ (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV).

So the word for you today is – invoke God’s blessing upon your life!. And God's Word shall come to pass in your life as He takes all the glory in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Luke 1:1-20, Psalms 1-3

Dumb Relationship Questions: How Many People Have You Had Sex With?

A girlfriend of mine met this guy whom she thought she could get to know and possibly see where it leads. In the process of getting to know each other, he blurts out to her the question "how may guys have you slept with?. After a back and forth of her indicating she was appalled by the question and him insisting and pushing for an answer, she ended up telling him she's slept with 7 guys. Next question he asks is "Is there anything left for me to enjoy down there?" ...LOL! WTF???

Ok so, I personally do not have a problem with answering any question, even this one, but my question is, what has how many men she has slept with or how many girls he has slept with have to do with you guys getting to know each other?. Will that add value to your life? Will that top up your bank account? Will that pay your house rent? Will it buy you a new car? What exactly will an answer to this question do for you?. This question is very synonymous with men but women also ask the question too.

The truth is, this question is age old boring!. Its a conversation killer. It just makes the whole "getting to know each other" less interesting, especially if you dropped this bomb question within the first few days or weeks of meeting. This question should be avoided, totally, because if you like that guy/girl and you really see you being with them, this question can make them subtly or stylishly avoid you completely and then its bye bye to a potentially interesting relationship ahead.

Guys, when you ask her this question and she stalls, delays the answer or does not want to answer at all, its not because she's ashamed of how many men she's slept with. Its because her "bored" button has been turned on by you and she feels you're not asking the right question to get to know her. You might get the "lets change the subject" or "why are you asking?" response. That's a cue to not press further and move on to the next relevant question.

Ladies, first off, why in the world would you wanna ask this question or know the answer to this question?. You know you will always have your own guess answer at the back of your mind and no matter what he answers, you will still have your reservations cos you know he's a man and the world sees a man's body count as normal compared to that of a woman's.

Bottom line, this is just a very dumb and irrelevant question to ask if you're getting to know somebody you intend to date. Let me tweak this quote we all know: if you don't have anything sensible to ask, don't ask anything at all.

Fuck New Year Resolutions!!!

First off, no offence to anybody who believes in this crap and second of all, who came up with this crap anyway???. LOL!

Really what's the fuzz about this new year resolution thingy?. Maybe it worked a couple of years before but right now, in this 21st century, its total bullshit. When a year is coming to an end or when a new year approaches, some people start with the "new year, new me" bullshit. They say out loud things they're gonna start doing or stop doing. Some even go as far as making a list.

Allow me to break down why this new year resolution thing is just a waste of time. A new year is approaching, you write down a list of things you're gonna start or stop doing in that new year, say for example, staying off alcohol, stopping smoking, going to work earlier, cleaning up your apartment every weekend, stop hanging out with those people who don't add value to your life, taking a particular course in school seriously, staying off drugs, going to bed early, start working out, going to church more, dumping that boyfriend or girlfriend who you see things going nowhere with, aiming for a promotion at work, etc. You basically say you're gonna start taking life more seriously and bla bla bla. Then barely a week into the new year, you find out that basically everything is still the same. Nothing's changed!. LOL!. Then as time goes by you just shrug them off and tell yourself there's still more time to implement the list and then before you know it, that new year ends and a new one approaches and you realize that there's more habits to curb and then its the same making a list all over again.

My question is, why put yourself through the agony of a making a list of things you're gonna start/stop doing which you end up not doing or making promises to yourself that you're gonna end up not keeping?. One thing you gotta know is habits take some time to curb or leash. If you can't make a Life Plan for yourself, how do you think you're gonna be able to follow a list of do's and dont's?.

Don't let this new year be the same with all them shitty new year resolutions bla bla bla. Do things differently and start with not tagging or labeling your new choices as "new year resolutions". Fuck new year resolutions! Just love yourself more, be a better and a more awesome you and take it from there.

God's Word For Today: Don’t Be Afraid, God Is with You

‘l am your shield, your very great reward.’

Genesis 15:1

When God sends you into a new situation, or asks you to do something you’ve never done before, you’ll experience uncertainty and fear, and have a lot of questions. God knows that; that’s why the promise He gives you is always equal to the project He gives you.

Imagine selling your house, packing up your belongings, putting your family in the car, and heading down the road without having a clue where you’re going. Sound crazy? That’s what God asked Abraham to do. But He told him, ‘Do not be afraid…I am your shield, your very great reward.’ The word ‘shield’ means God will protect you, and the word ‘reward’ means He will provide everything you need.

Does that mean you won’t experience fear? No, it means you must trust Him in spite of your fears!

Dr Bernard Vittone says: ‘As we age we lose the ability to distinguish between the negative anxiety associated with work, stress, and tension, and the positive type that’s a natural and exciting part of trying something new. As a result we become more fearful and avoid anxiety-producing situations. When that happens, the desire for safety keeps us stuck in neutral.

Trying to avoid risk is like trying to avoid living; without a goal to strive for you stop growing altogether.’ If Abraham had refused to obey God because he feared the unknown and the untried, he’d have missed his ‘very great reward’.

So press through your fear today and claim the blessing God has promised you on the other side of it. Don’t be afraid; God is with you!

Gen 7-9, Matt 3

This Year Ask God for His Plan For You!

In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, ‘I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you…plans to give you hope and a future…pray to me, and I will listen to you’ (vv. 11-12 NIV).

This year ask God for His plan. It’s miserable playing a part for which you’re ill-suited. It’s like walking in shoes that don’t fit. So…what are you good at? What do you enjoy doing most? What accomplishments make you feel best?

List moments in your life when you were acutely aware of this feeling of fulfilment and ask yourself the following questions:

Does this reveal anything about your purpose?

If money wasn’t a consideration, how would you fill your days?

How does this compare with where you are now?

What one small step can you take right now - one phone call made, one letter written, one email sent - to move you towards your true calling?

What have you learned about your purpose through failure?

Are some areas clearly not a part of your calling at all?

Who do you admire for the way they’ve applied their talents?

Why are you like them?

What can you learn from them?

How would you describe your vision for your life this year? Or five years from now? Or ten?

Who are the people in your life who really get who you are?

Have you asked them what they think your purpose might be?

Have they given any indication of how they think you should use your talents?

If you could write your own obituary, what would you want it to say?

What would you like to be remembered for?

.......

As you begin the New Year, don't put your thoughts and actions first. Don't repeat the same things all over again. Don't do it all on your own.

Seek His Face in the affairs of your life and the things that concern you. Seek His will for your life. Seek His purpose for your life, Put Him first. Seek His Strength, His Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding...

Ask God for His plan for your life.

God's Word For Today: What’s Your Vision for This Year?

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’

Proverbs 29:18

What are you planning to do with this New Year?

What you set your heart on will determine how you spend your time and energy. And it takes as much effort to live an unfulfilled life as a richly rewarding one. Some scientists have recently estimated that the human brain has between 10 and 100 terabytes of capacity, which means we all have lots of room for growth.

One of the most rewarding things you can do this year is work to develop your mind. ‘Where there is no vision [sense of direction], the people perish.’ Dissatisfaction doesn’t come from the absence of things, but the absence of direction. Too many of us merely exist because we’ve settled for less than God intended. The quality of your life will be determined by your vision and the effort you’re willing to put into fulfilling it.

So stop and make a written list of the areas where you’d like to grow this year, then tackle the three or four most important ones. Don’t get discouraged if the one you’re working on doesn’t want to co-operate; nothing great is ever created suddenly.

Paul said of his faith, ‘I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:14 ESV). It’s a process; you have to keep plugging away.

Some days it’ll feel like two steps forward and three steps backward. But don’t give up. It’s better to die for something than to live for nothing! And unless you try something beyond what you’ve already mastered, you won’t grow. So what are you waiting for? Life? It’s waiting for you - so get going!

Gen 4-6, Matt 2