Rhema Life Solutions Blog

HOW TO SUPPORT THE VISION OF THE HOUSE (PART 2)

2008-08-19T16:07:00.002-04:00

BECOME A RESOURCE
The bible calls us salt and light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14), implying that we are saved to be a resource wherever God places us. The first step to becoming a resource to our local church or place of assignment is to embrace personal development.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15 KJV)

The principle here is that you cannot give what you don’t have. In whatever area you feel called to serve, be diligent in developing yourself in those areas. Gain more skills. Don’t wait till you are appointed to start training, start now. Preparation precedes performance. Your rewards in life come from the solutions you provide to the needs around you. Your recognition in life is also tied to the solutions you proffer. Employers pay you based on the value of solution they perceive you bring to the organization. The more of a resource you become, the more your worth increases.

Every organization exists to solve a perceived problem, the more of a solution you are, the less of a burden on the house. The risk of being a ‘burden’ rather than an ‘answer’ to a problem is that you stand to be made redundant, trodden upon or eliminated because that’s what people do to problems so they can get ahead with their lives.

The quickest way to be obsolete and become a problem rather than an answer, is to stop growing in your knowledge and understanding of who you are and what you do. I’ve heard it said that when people stop growing they start dying. To avoid this, seek out growth areas in your life and skills and do something about them, also review your strengths from time to time to see how you can develop them further.

BE EQUIPPED TO TAKE OUT ‘SPECKS’ IN PEOPLE’S EYES
Last week I wrote about being prepared to be part of a team, it is very easy however to spot the ‘speck’ in your teammates eyes. To be well equipped to help them get rid of the ‘speck’, Jesus says we should first remove the log in our eyes (Matt 7:5). It is important to note that both the speck and the log will hinder the team’s performance; therefore to do nothing should not be an option. But when we first deal with the ‘log’ in our eyes, we receive the grace to be able to help others with their ‘speck’ (‘logs’ and ‘specks’ here refer to our personal limitations or struggles).We are tender in our approach and more patient with others once we’ve dealt with our ‘logs’.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Cor 1:3-4 (NIV)

We will truly be a support to the vision of the church God has planted us if we embrace personal development and deal with our personal issues.

To be continued!

Have a real blessed week!!

With Warmth

Angela

HOW TO SUPPORT THE VISION

2008-08-11T18:30:00.002-04:00

We all have a set of values by which we live our lives. I’ve written about how important goal setting is to succeeding in life, but our values are even more important than goals because goals in themselves are a means to an end. Our goals are a means to having our values met. We all have ‘moving towards’ and ‘moving away’ values, our ‘moving away’ values are things our brain read as leading to pain, while ‘our moving towards’ values are things our brain interprets as resulting in pleasure. Psychologists say the brain will do more to avoid pain than to get pleasure. So if public speaking is a moving towards value for you but rejection is a moving away value, you will experience intrapersonal conflict whenever you have an opportunity to speak but afraid your audience or somebody in the audience may not like you. In fact your brain will support your turning down that speaking engagement rather than going for it, because it will rather avoid pain than gain pleasure.

I shared the above information to say this – if an addiction to the presence of God is not yet topmost on your value hierarchy, you will need to shift it there because love for His presence and a corresponding fear of the loss of His presence are two values that will keep you focused and faithful to His work. Remember King David? The one whom God described as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22)? What was His topmost ‘moving towards value’? It was the presence of God while His topmost ‘moving away’ value was the loss of the presence of God. One of the occasions this was made manifest was after he sinned with Bathsheba. In his repentance as recorded in Psalm 51, of all the things he could have requested for, he cried out to God to not take His Holy Spirit from him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalms 51:10-13 KJV)

When his predecessor King Saul was in a similar situation of sinning against God, his cry was for the prophet Samuel to still come with him so he will not loose face before the people, indicating that the approval of man was his highest ‘moving toward value’

Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” (1 Sam 15:30 NLT)

If pleasing God is your topmost value, you will not struggle with being about His business. Your whole life will be built around His business, part of which is the vision of your local church.

Another way to support the God’s vision for your local congregation is to be available first to God, then to your church. Quality time with God is His primary love language. By spending time with God, you give Him a chance to reveal His heart to you (Isaiah 1:18) cleanse you; fill you so He can use you. Nobody can please God by his own human strength, if it not by God’s grace, it will not be acceptable to God. Part of the benefit of spending quality time with God is that He gets to reveal Himself to you and only then can you rightly reveal Him to the world (Galatians 1:15-16). You cannot give what you don’t have. The depth of Himself that God reveals to you will determine how much of Him you can show to others.

Be prepared to work as a team. One look at the human body tells you we are designed to work best as part of a team. Even the Godhead is made up of a team of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You can’t do it all by yourself. Know your calling and gifting; find your place and do the very best you can to get the job done. Be mature enough to allow other members of your team to succeed without feeling threatened by their success. God will not judge you based on another’s potential, He will not require of you that which He designed someone else to accomplish. Be confident in who you are in Christ, celebrate his gifting on your life and on the lives of all your team members and be glad the job is getting done.

I will continue on this topic next week by God’s grace.

Until then…Shalom!!

With Warmth
Angela

SUPPORT THE VISION OF THE HOUSE

2008-08-04T02:07:00.000-04:00

If you are a Christian, you are part of God’s vision for the church; all employees are part of the vision of their organization. If you are neither a Christian nor an employee, you are still part of a vision, that of your family, community or Nation. We are all part of a vision whether or not we have a vision for our personal life.

What is a vision? In the context of this write up, it is simply the picture of where you are going and what you want to do.
Everyone with a vision for their life or business pursues the fulfillment of their vision, and it is a commendable thing to do. How else will your dream come through if you do not follow through with the plans to accomplish the vision? However, today I’m writing about why support the vision of the church God has planted you in.

The church as a body is the light of the world and the salt of the earth. It is through us the members that God has chosen to cast His vision for mankind and accomplishes His purpose. It is the responsibility of the shepherd to get God’s vision for their sheepfold and present same to the people. E.g. God chose Moses as a leader over His people, gave Him the vision for the nation, Moses in turn shared that with the people. When God appointed Joshua leader over the Israelites, He gave him the vision for the people (Joshua 1:1-9)

God designed man to work best as a team. We see this reflected in the different human parts working together for us to function effectively. The acronym TEAM means together everyone accomplishes more. Though God gives the leader the vision, He expects both the leadership and followers to work together to bring the vision to past.

God himself is a team of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One of the signs that He promotes team work is establishing the principle that one can put a thousand to flight but two ten thousand (Josh 23:10, Deut 32:30). To encourage us to work together He also promised that whenever two or three of us are gathered in His name, He will be in the midst of us (Matt.18:20). He also said whatever two or three of us shall agree as touching anything shall be established for them by God. It is said that no man is an Island, and it takes more than a single tree to make a forest. None of us can fulfill God’s purpose without the help of other people. In the same way other people need us to fulfill their God given assignment especially our leaders.

WHY SUPPORT THE VISION OF THE HOUSE

The vision is not theirs but the Lord. And God ordered your step to be a part f that congregation at such a time as this because you do have a role to play in bringing the vision to past. Remember the steps of the just man are ordered by God (Ps 37:23)
It is an honor to be called and chosen to be a part of establishing God’s vision on the earth, for many are called but only few are chosen (Matt 22:14)

If we turn our backs or choose to be nonchalant towards God’s vision for the house we are planted in, God will replace us. Do not let the stones cry out in your place (Lk 19:40, Matt 3:9)
What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you – this ties in with the principle of sowing and reaping (Gal. 6:7). If you choose not to sow at all, the enemy will sow in your garden, therefore you will still get a harvest, but that of weed instead of wheat.

God gift of time to us is to prepare for our eternity. We ought to be about our Father’s business, for it’s what we do concerning God’s business that will count for eternity.
It is an opportunity to gain and store up treasure for us in heaven.
By our support and faithfulness to His vision, we build a godly heritage for our descendants. God is a generational God, He promised to reward our faithfulness to him to a thousand generation.

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; (Deut 7:9 KJV)

Hopefully next week, I will write about HOW TO SUPPORT THE VISION OF THE HOUSE.

Until then…stay blessed and focused!

With Love

Angela

FLEXIBILITY IS KING?

2008-07-30T00:49:00.001-04:00

One of our Life Coaching assumptions is that flexibility is king. The individual with the most behavioral flexibility will control any situation.
Just pause for a moment and reflect on how it will feel, look or sound if you can always have everything under control. Your response will no doubt be dependent on your personality type, but all personalities experience an exhilarating victory when they get an overwhelming situation under control. Your ability to do this in the shortest time possible will greatly depend on the degree of your behavioral flexibility.

It’s important to not confuse being flexible with being unstable which results from doubts. The bible clearly warns that he that is doubtful is unstable and should not expect to receive wisdom from God (James 1:5-8). No situation can be brought under control without wisdom. Not only is there is a time and a season for every activity under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1) there is also a proper procedure for every matter (Eccl 8:6)

Flexibility starts by yielding our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and applying the principles of the combination of Ecclesiaistes 3:1-8 and 8:1-6 in every situation we’re confronted with irrespective of how we are feeling at that point in time.

Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "What are you doing?" Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him (Eccl 8:1-6 NIV)

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl 3:1-8 NIV)

The word of God likens our submission to God to that of clay in the potter’s hand (Jer 18:6). To the best of my knowledge, the more ‘flexible’ clay is in the hands of a potter, the more ready it is to be transformed into a vessel of beauty to be admired by all. In our work with God, flexibility is a key ingredient of success. God will not always give us details of His plan; we must be flexible enough to keep obeying His last instruction to us knowing He will supply the next piece of information when we need it. Let’s review Elijah’s encounter with God in 1Kings 17:2-11.

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."(1 Kings 17:2-11 NIV)

We see God telling Elijah where to go and what he will be fed with. He did not tell him how long he’s going to be there or that the brook will eventually dry up requiring Elijah to move once again. I also noticed that the birds brought meat and bread but there was no mention of salt and pepper to give the food a good flavor. We don’t even know what kind of meat they brought to Elijah. My point is, the widow of Zarephath and her family was saved from the famine because Elijah was flexible enough to be content with whatever God provided for him. His flexibility saved both his life and that of the entire widow’s family.

Paul applied this same flexibility principle to his life and walk with God. He shared it when he said he has learnt to be content in whatever situation he finds himself. Whether in abundance or in lack (Phillip.4:10-13). The secret to these two heroes’ flexibility and contentment is their trust in God’s ultimate plan for their lives. There is no saying how high God can lift a person who trusts Him enough to be flexible in His hands.

Are you believing God for something? Have you made your request known to him? Then let yourself loose in His hands. He is able to keep that which has been committed to His hands (2 Tim.1:12). Gear yourself up for the adventure to possessing your desires, He will do more than you think or imagine but there is no guarantee that it will come the way YOU had it all planned out. God is an adventurous God and He is the only one I know, who always ‘uses one stone to kill multiple birds’. God will give you your miracle, but there are several other people in line whose miracles are tied to yours. Stay flexible in His hands, trust me everything will come together and it will all make sense someday. If not on this side of life, it will on the other side.

STAY FLEXIBLE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. LET THAT FLEXIBILITY REFLECT IN YOUR DAILY LIFE. THERE IS A TIME TO BE UNYIELDING AND A TIME TO YEILD. LET GO AND LET GOD!

With Warmth

Angela.

REDEEMING THE LAND

2008-07-07T01:49:00.001-04:00

I started this teaching with Missions with Africa (MwA) recently, and I feel led to share it with everyone that reads my blog because the principles herein can be applied to our individual and family lives. This is the first part of the teaching; I will hopefully post the rest of it as I proceed with the teaching. I believe this is also very important as we celebrate the independence of the USA, recalling the righteous foundation that was laid by our founding fathers, which our generation has unfortunately lost so much ground to the enemy. We have a mandate to ‘occupy till’ our Lord returns (Luke 19:13 KJV) not to ‘loose ground’. I believe our generation should arise and declare that this land will not be taken over, certainly not on our watch.

Why we do it

Jesus paid the price for our redemption and reconciliation of all things to God (Col 1:18-23)

The price has been paid. The law for our liberty has been passed, (John 19:30) but it has to be enforced (Mk 15:16).

Believers are God’s law enforcement agents (Matt 16:19, Jer 1:8). To us has been committed the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinth 5:18-21)

What is reconciliation? To return to God. First step to reconciliation is repentance. What is the evidence of this reconciliation? They that live no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again (2Corinth 5:14-15)

As Christ ambassadors we are God’s watchmen in whatever town, city or nation He places us. Watchmen are guards. They watch out for the interest of the king who authorize them and the safety of the people who live within the walls of their city or families (1Sam14:16). God’s watchmen are intercessors who stand before God on behalf of the City or family He set them over (Isaiah 62:6-8, 2Chro 23:18).

It is God’s work, if we refuse to do it, or become lax in doing it, we expose ourselves to laboring under a curse (Jer 48:10, Judges 5:23)

Jesus is coming back soon and expects to meet all the watchmen at their duty post (Matt 24:45-51)

HOW WE DO IT

The first step is to do a ‘SPIRITUAL MAPPING’ of our lives, deal with the issues that arises, then proceed to do a ‘spiritual mapping’ of the town or city we’ve been placed.

What do we mean by spiritual mapping?

It is the process of uncovering strongholds of the enemy, idolatrous covenants and altars, any ‘crack in the wall’ through which the enemy may gain entrance – to deceive or overpower. It is assessing were we’ve come from, were we are currently and where we want to go. Identify the gap, uncover and gather available resources, then map out our route and get started!

Why we do ‘Spiritual Mapping.’

We do not want to be blind watchmen (Isaiah 56:9-11)

Ignorance will cost us more than we are willing or able to pay (Hosea 4:6)

We are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices, snares, strategies, intentions, scheming, designs (2Corinth 2:11)

We are not to give the devil a foothold in our lives (Eph 4:27)

Why we map our lives first before mapping the city

We want to know if there is anything in us that need uprooting, so that when Satan or his cohorts roar at us, they will find nothing in us to devour ( Jn 14:30)

If we take out the ‘log’ in our eyes, we can clearly see the ‘speck’ in our brothers’ eyes (Matt 7:3-5)

God told Gideon to go first destroy the altars in his father’s house before going out against the Midianites (Judges 6:25-27)

We do not want to labor under the curse of the law.

How do we redeem the land?

Based on the findings from our spiritual mapping, we confess our sins and that of our ancestors (Leviticus 26:40-42)

Ask the Lord to uproot the source of these sins (Matt 15:13)

Destroy all Idolatrous altars (physically and spiritually) (Ex 34:13-14, Deut 7:5, (Prv 18:21)

Repair the broken hedges (Jer 1:10)

War with God’s prophecies (His spoken and written word)

Pray that the Lord will frustrate the devices of the enemy (Job 5:12-13)

Raise new altars unto the Lord

Be silent no more
Pursue holiness.

With Love
Angela

FREEDOM AWAITS YOU IN THE LIGHT!

2008-07-02T02:09:00.001-04:00

A great hindrance to living the victorious Christian life or attaining to the fullness of one’s potential is the fear of past failures or present weaknesses.

One of the characteristics of true believers is that they love righteousness and hate wickedness. In return for this attitude, God anoints them with the oil of joy. Unfortunately not very many are able to keep their joy.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy (Psalms 45:7 NIV)

The above bible passage was also quoted in reference to Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Heb 1:8-9). Jesus in turn declared that anointing us with the oil of joy is part of His assignment when in Luke 4:17 -21, He quoted what Isaiah had written concerning His ministry.

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3 ASV)

Since these are truths of God’s word, why do we allow the enemy to rob us of our joy by intimidating us with our past failures or present weaknesses? God has always known Satan’s agenda and warned us that anywhere Satan or his cohorts operate, their threefold agenda is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). God word teaches us to not be ignorant of Satan’s intentions, strategy, devices or snares (2 Corinthians 2:11).

One of Satan’s strategies of robbing us or our joy and keeping us from enjoying all that God has blessed us with is get us to live so much in the past or the future that we hardly take the time to enjoy today. The presence of stress is a symptom of a person depleted in enjoyment. Overpowering fear of our past failures or present weaknesses is an indication of one being robbed of joy.

HOW TO GET OUT OF THIS SNARE

The bible describes Satan as the prince of this world (John 16:11). But…HEY…he’s been judged! Praise God! His sentenced was pronounced on the cross when Jesus cried out ‘it is finished’ (Jn19:30). Satan is a sentenced criminal waiting to start serving his time in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Meanwhile he is still roaming the earth seeking every opportunity to cause more havoc (1 Peter 5:8). We don’t have to be his victims.

Satan is the prince of darkness, he knows the word of God, he is aware of God’s command to touch not His anointed and do His prophets no harm (1 Chronicles 16:22). He heard Jesus’ prayer to the Father to protect us from the evil one (John 17:15) and He knows God answered that prayer. The question is do you know all these? Satan can only rob you to the degree that you are ignorant of your covenant rights. Anyone who covers up his sin rather than confess them, operates in the ‘dark’ and is under Satan’s jurisdiction consequently, he can manipulate, intimidate or dominate such a person (Proverbs 28:13). If we stay in the light, he can’t dominate us because light is God’s domain (1John 1:5).

As long as you are doing all you can to keep your past failures or present weakness in the dark, Satan will continue to intimidate you.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Eph 5:11 NKJV)

There is power in bringing things to the light. Stop allowing your weakness or past failures define you. You have a right to stay silent, but there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Eccl.3:7). Until you are free, you cannot walk in the fullness of your potential. The devil is a liar! Quit entertaining those lies about your past failures or current weakness being beyond pardon or modification. There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9), countless people have been in your shoes and are today victorious. God does work everything together for the good of all who love Him (Romans 8:28). God’s decree says you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and His opinion of you is what really counts. You have everything to gain by believing what God says about you. Quit hiding behind a mask, come out OF THE DARK, FREEDOM AWAITS YOU IN THE LIGHT!

To your victory!

With Love,
Angela

CROSSROADS

2008-06-18T00:13:00.000-04:00

Have you ever set out on a journey you thought you knew how to arrive at your destination, only to find yourself at a crossroad not knowing whether to turn left or right?

I happen to have the personality type that loves to have everything in sequence, e.g. A followed by B then C, D, E, F e.t.c. When F comes after A, then B and G, you loose me, then panic sets in and my brain tries frantically to put things back in a sequence of some sort, to bring me back to balance. The Disc personality profile describes people like me as having a C personality. When teasing people with a C personality, I usually tell them their C stands for certainty, that’s why they freak out when things get out of sequence!
If people with my personality types have their way, life will be all full of certainty. Wait a minute… can you imagine a life where everything is predictable, no surprises or any kind uncertainties? Boring! Boring! Boring! God designed life as an adventure of faith, meaning there will be countless times life will bring us to a crossroad, where we will need to make a decision whether to turn right, left or keep moving forward.

I am not a fan of ‘life’s crossroads’ when I do not know prior to arriving there which way to turn. What do you think the underlying fear is for people in such situations? Most times it is the fear of failure. If you are just starting out in life, adventure can be a fun word but for those who have made a couple of mistakes in the past (especially ones with high price tags), risks may not be a fun word to them, even informed risk. Unfortunately, the degree of our success in life is greatly influenced by the level of risk we are willing to take. To live life completely risk averse will result in never attaining to the fullness of your personal potential.

The way to go is to take informed risk. What does that mean for a believer? It means staying ignorant of whom you are and what being a citizen of heaven has made available to you, will not only limit you, but could destroy you, therefore we need to educate ourselves.

My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children (Hosea 4:6 NIV)

There are different aspects of life we need to educate ourselves on depending on our calling, but the most fundamental aspect that is common to everyone is God’s law, which is also His word. Does being educated mean you will always know what to do all the time? No. But the bible assures us that the steps of the just man are ordered by God (Psalm 37:23). How does it work? We are instructed in Ephesians 6:15, as part of our armor to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which is the word of God. If we shod our feet with the word of God, the word will always lead us in the right direction because of Psalm 119:105.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalms 119:105 NIV)

To shod our feet with the word is like wearing the word as shoes and like shoes we stand on them and walk in them. The word not only becomes a support for our frame (our lives), but also a protective covering. Some ways to get the word are by reading our bibles, listening to the bible on various electronic devices, reading Christian literatures, listening to Christian radio, watching Christian TV.

Does this mean you will always know what to do at the ‘crossroads of life’? Not necessarily. However, if you stay in the word and life brings you to a crossroad, not knowing which way to turn, rather than back off, listen to your heart, then turn in whatever direction it leads you. I can most assuredly say that whether you turn left or right or keep straight ahead, you will arrive at your destination, some routes may be longer than others, but you will certainly get there because EVERYTHING WORKS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD… (Romans 8:28). You certainly qualify as ‘those who love the Lord’, because you have not ignored His law (word), you have stood on it and are walking in it.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:13-14 NIV)

Don’t let the ‘crossroads of life’ intimidate you, fear not, child of God, your heavenly Father has got your back, keep moving ahead, it shall be well!

To your victory!

With Love,

Angela

THE NEWS

2008-06-11T00:16:00.003-04:00

I believe today's post is for a specific person. I don't know what news you heard that is troubling your heart. I got another news for you "God is in control". He still rules in the affairs of men, so fear not. Be strong and of good courage. God will never leave you nor forsake you (Joshua 1:5).

With Love

Angela

HE WEIGHED YOUR CROSS BEFORE HE STUCK YOUR NAME ON IT

2008-05-26T01:23:00.000-04:00

If I were asked to give two words that best describe Life, I would say – change and challenge. These are two things that everyone regardless of their age, gender, race or religion will experience countless times during their life time. There is a 100% guarantee that everyone will experience life’s storms at some point or the other if they continue to have the breath of life in their nostrils. But have you ever felt like you’ve been dealt a heavier blow than anyone else alive?

I know that a fundamental requirement for any disciple of Christ is to pick up their cross daily, following the Master (Luke 9:23) but have there been seasons in your life that you felt you must have picked up the wrong cross? Have you ever found yourself asking God to cross check the name tag on the cross you were bearing because you were totally convinced the weight of that cross could not possibly be for people in your category? You know, like setting up a light weight boxer against a heavy weight champion?

When I was much younger, I had an ambition similar to that James and John (Mark 10:37). Mine wasn’t to sit at Jesus’ right or left in His coming kingdom ( I guess those positions must have been filled by now since people have been vying for them as far back as when Jesus walked this earth!!). I used to pray for trials because I wanted to be a saint! But as I grew older and started facing the storms of life, I returned to God and asked Him to delete those request I made as a child (my guess is the delete button is broken – you know what I mean?). I remember the days when I got beaten for attending church, the days when I came home to no food as my punishment for sneaking out of the house to attend church. I used to dance and rejoice like the apostles did the first time they when beaten with many strokes for preaching the gospel.

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:38-41 NIV)

It is easy to dance when your cross is ‘feather weight’. What do you do when your cross appears to be ‘heavy weight’? I have learnt to plead my case with God –

"Present your case," says the LORD. "Set forth your arguments," says Jacob's King. (Isaiah 41:21 NIV). But I do it the way Jesus did, I ask God to let the cup pass me by, but if I must drink of it, then let His will be done.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39 KJV)

The reason I do this is because I am aware that not every cross is my cross just as not every yoke or burden is the Lord’s. No one can run away from carrying a cross in life, if we do not pick up our cross, Satan will put his cross on us. The good news is for followers of Jesus, each person’s cross is custom made to fit the carrier. And His cross is like His yoke which is easy and His burden that is light. Crosses, yokes or burdens, light or heavy are no fun to our fallen nature. However, Jesus has never required us to do anything He did not set an example for us. He led by example. Each cross yoke or burden designed by God is aimed at bringing out the best in us. Life is an endurance race. Our endurance level determines the degree of authority that will be bestowed upon us here on earth and the rewards that will be awaiting us once we step out of time.

What is it about endurance? See what the bible says –
By your endurance you will save your life (Luke 21:19 GW)

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth (Rev 3:10 ESV)

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4 ESV)

We see that endurance is a key ingredient for producing hope. In my opinion, hope in God is everything because it is the root that sustains faith, without which no one can please God.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV)

So endurance is the answer to a ‘heavy weight cross’.

Monday is the Memorial Day in the US, a day set aside to honor all who served and are still serving in all segments of the armed forces. A service was held today at our church in honor of the living and fallen heroes of this great nation. Our Senior Pastor gave gifts to everyone that has served in the armed forces in any capacity. They were all seated on the front row and everyone got a chance to shake their hands and thank them for their service to this country. One thing our pastor did that caught my attention was that he did not only thank them individually for their service, he also thanked them for submitting themselves to training!

As I watched that, the Holy Spirit bore witness to my spirit that in the same way our heavenly Father will reward us for every study, and training we undertake on earth that makes servicemen fit for use by God, (2 Timothy 2:15). It’s exciting to know that we are not just going to be rewarded for our services but also for our training (which sometimes comes disguised as trials, cross, yoke and burden)! I find this comforting because some people will spend most of their lives being trained and be used only in the last lap of their time on earth, but they will still be rewarded just as if they were in their assignment all the time. Remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard? (Matthew 20:1-15).

You may not be dancing over your cross but if you hang in there, with a decent attitude, you will get to your place of victory. For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). Sometimes, the weight and pain of the cross may cause you to stumble, but don’t give up. When I find myself in a place like that, I pray that God will send me my ‘Simon of Cyrene’ (Believe me, you will need one at some point), because I’ve come too far to back off, waited too long to give up, hung on too long to let go now. If I can’t run, I will walk, if that is impossible, I will crawl so long as I’m moving towards the finish line.

And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross (Mark 15:21 ESV)

If you perceive you are ‘light weight’ and are carrying a ‘heavy weight’ cross, you might want to update your beliefs about yourself. God will never put a ‘heavy weight’ cross on a ‘light weight’ saint. He promised none belonging to Him will ever be tempted beyond what they can endure (1Corinthians 10:13). He weighed your cross before He put your name on it. If He put it on you, it’s because you’re worth it!

Stay the course!

With Love,

Angela

P.S
The Orofino Public Library will be hosting my book signing between 1.30 -3.30 pm on Tuesday 26th of May 2008. If you are in the area, do stop by. Will be looking forward to seeing you!

THANKFUL FOR ALL MOMS!

2008-05-12T20:52:00.002-04:00

Today I want to pay tribute to a very special woman in my life – my mom! She is my hero, the most admirable woman in my entire world! Now don’t even begin to think that my mom is perfect or got it right all through my childhood. That’s very far from the truth. Below are some things that make her special;

Though I’ve never heard my mom say “I love you” to any of her five children, I know, that I know, that I know that she loves every one of us with her entire being. How do I know this? By her actions and the sacrifices she has made over the years to give us the best life she could afford.
Mom always said “I have no inheritance to leave behind for any of you, but I will pay the price to give you all the best education any child can get” She stayed true to her words.
Mom was very strict. Right or wrong her ‘yes’ was yes and her ‘no’ was no. I had to learn to fast and pray at a young age to get my mom to change her mind. In retrospect, I’m grateful for her stability it made my world less confusing for me.
Mom hardly bought us anything that was in ‘fashion’, which made me cry as I was always the odd one out among my peers. I thought mom was mean, but today I’m so thankful for her stand because it taught me that to be different does not make me less valuable. And my value is not in what I wear or what I possess but in who I am and who I can become.
Mom was and still is a hard worker. She taught me that there is dignity in labor. I learnt that if I stayed focus, remained diligent and embrace excellence, every dream can come true.
I always heard mom speak about her career goal – to reach the peak of the nursing profession before her retirement age. To do that she had to constantly improve her skills, sometimes she had to return to full time education. I saw mom struggle as a single parent, I saw her deal with the discrimination that came with being a single parent. But one thing mom never did was give up in the face of a storm. About three years ago, her dream came to past, she reached the pinnacle of her profession and retired a very happy woman last year.

Have you taken the time to count the things you are grateful to God for about your mom? It doesn’t matter how many negatives there were, if you look very closely, you’d find something to be grateful for.

When God gave us mothers, He gave the world an irreplaceable gift. Motherhood is not just about biologically producing children, it’s more than that. You don’t have to be a biological mom to be a mother to a person. The church is in dire need of mothers to birth children into the kingdom of God and even more to nurture the children that have been born to maturity.

How many people have you birthed into God’s kingdom? How many people are you proactively influencing for God?

This week, I celebrate not only my mom, but all the women out there transforming the world for Christ one life at a time. My praise goes out to the countless women who open up their hearts, arms and home to children whose moms cannot be there for them. For all that you do to put a smile on another child’s face, I want to say thank you! Great indeed is your reward in heaven!

With Love,
Angela

FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

2008-05-05T17:48:00.002-04:00

At our women’s study group, we are currently reading Lisa Bevere’s book ‘Fight like a girl’. We’ve been having a blast reading that book. The book is centered on loving yourself for who God made you. Satan has been working very hard on our generation trying to get as many as he can confused about their gender and wanting to be something else. Have the saints helped him accomplish his goals? Yes, at least to some extent and mostly ignorantly.

Lisa reminded me of something I was taught in 9th grade – what makes one male or female? Is it just the hormones and the organs of the body? No, much more than that, it is our chromosomes, our genes! A male is one with an XY chromosome and a female is one with an XX chromosome. To the best of my knowledge there is no scientific procedure that can change that. Meaning you don’t become male or female simply by altering your organs and hormonal composition.

Why are some people deceived, thinking they are in the wrong body? It is partly because our society and culture has defined the characteristics of the male and female outside what the word of God says. E.g. the society defines males as aggressive, loves football, hates shopping, uses about 70% less words than the female, not emotional, must not cry, can’t stand cooking, not designed to do house chores, definitely not ‘touchy feely’, hates to give details of how his day went, designed to be stubborn, must be able to make all the decisions all the time, he is the boss at home, must have all the answers all the time, must be a handyman. Unfortunately, some in the body of Christ embraces and teach these as the definition of the males. I don’t see anywhere in the bible that defines the characteristics of the male as any of the above.

When God created human kind, He made them male and female (Genesis 1:27). God did not ‘mass produce’ mankind, we are all uniquely made. Even scientists have testified that no two people share the same finger prints. God did not create us and then decided a purpose for our lives rather He had a purpose for our lives before creating us. It is that specific purpose that determined whether we are going to be male or female, our biological parents, how long we’d live, the exact places we’d grow up and our personality types.

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalms 139:16 NIV)

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV)

From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26-27 NIV)

My husband and I always laugh when we read a book or watch a program on TV especially marriage seminars where the presenter defines the males with the attributes I listed above because it is not true of us and I can count several other males who don’t fit those description. When my husband gets into a shop, he wants to stay there all day. I am the type that goes to a shop, get what’s on my list and get out. When my husband talks about his day, he wants to tell you everything that happened. I am the opposite. My typical response to a ‘how was your day’ question is ‘Oh… it was ok’ and I’m done, I’m learning to talk more now because I know he wants to hear more. I love football and my husband does not care about it. My husband and I have so many things in common but I listed these differences to establish you are not male or female based on your likes, dislikes, or your personality type. God in His infinite mercy had to create men like my husband, for women like me and vice versa.

Words like ‘tomboy’ for girls and ‘sissy’ for boys are from the pits of hell, to mislead people into thinking something is wrong with them because they don’t fit into man made description of male and female. My suggestion will be to rid our vocabulary of those words. If a girl is determined, adventurous and likes getting things done, tell her so. If a boy is nurturing, tell him so and encourage them to discover why God designed them like that.

Our personality types – extroverts or introverts, adventurous or cautious, are gifts from God. We have the responsibility of learning how to manage our weaknesses so they don’t sabotage our strengths bearing in mind that we house these precious gifts in fragile earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7)

If my husband and I were not secure in who we are in Christ, we’d probably think we are in the wrong body based the secular definition of the genders. I am the right mix of character traits for the call of God on my life and so are you. You are not a biological accident, you were fearfully and wonderfully made, designed to fit your destiny. Rejoice in who you are in Him – your joy is an act of worship unto God.

To your success!

With Love,
Angela

THE SECRET OF ACHIEVING A WORK - LIFE BALANCE

2008-04-21T14:35:00.000-04:00

“There is just so much to do! I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day!” Are you familiar with that statement? I’ve heard people make that complaint several times. Unfortunately, a 24 hour day is what we’ve all got, and we can’t change it. To be always stressed out for lack of time is a symptom of a work – life imbalance. It is unhealthy for anyone to live in such state. The good news is that something can be done about it.

Some of the causes of a work – life imbalance, are lack of set goals and absence of planning. Some people have goals and plans but have their priorities out of order. In some cases the root of the problem is the fear of man. People take on responsibilities they ordinarily wouldn’t take on because they are too scared to say NO when asked, while some are too proud to admit they are overloaded. Whatever the case may be a work - life imbalance if not taken care of may eventually lead to a break down in a person’s health and relationships.

I’m aware that there are some seasons of our lives that life seems to throw more than we can bear on our shoulders, but God’s promise to us is we’d never be tempted beyond what we can bear.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)

What is the starting point of achieving work – life balance? Get your priorities right. Quality time with God should be our number one priority in life. Jesus modeled this for us throughout His earthly ministry. He started and ended His day by spending quality time with the Father. He made the Father His first and last.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35 NIV)

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16 NIV)

It did not matter how busy Jesus’ schedule for the day was, quality time with the Father could not be compromised. If Jesus could not do without this practice, none of us can achieve a work –life balance without it. What is quality time with God? It is your time alone with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s time spent presenting your life afresh to God, reviewing your life in His presence, laying down your day before Him. It is also the time you spend feeding your spirit by reading the word. During this time, you want to listen twice as much as you speak, because it is what He has to say that will make your day productive and prosperous.

The bible teaches that God daily loads us with benefits.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah (Psalms 68:19 KJV)

I like to get my daily supply of grace, strength, courage, knowledge, understanding, joy and peace before I get into my day even if it means waking up very early. The problem is some people rush into their day without their essential daily supplies. To do this is to set you up for a tough day, where your 80% efforts only yield 20% result.

Jesus introduced Himself to us several times in the book of Revelation as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. If we truly allow Him to be this in our daily lives, dedicating the first and last parts of our day to Him, there is no demon in hell, or human on earth that will be able to stop us from achieving a work – life balance. This practice strengthens our spirit man and subdues our flesh. The word becomes an integral part of our thinking and decision making, our spirits having been sharpened is more in tune with the Holy Spirit and more readily receives and downloads God’s guidance into our minds. It brings order into our inner being and God’s favor overshadows us. The result is 20% efforts produces 80% result.

This is a principle that has been tried and tested, it did not fail Jesus, and it has not failed me and all the people that I know apply this principle. Every time I stay faithful to this principle, I’ve always achieved more in my day.

If on a daily basis He is your personal Alpha and Omega, He will set you free from the fear of man and make you as bold as a lion. He will teach you to say no without feeling guilty and will also establish order in your life.

'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (Acts 17:28 NIV)

If the Lord is your beginning, you will begin with Him each day. If He is your ending, you will end with Him each day, that way you can experience Acts 17:28 and this bible verse is the secret of achieving a work life balance. With the Lord as your First and Last, you can be rest assured, He will take care of everything in – between and work – life balance will be your testimony.

To your success!

With Love

Angela

WHAT IF A RECESSION HITS THIS NATION?

2008-04-14T00:29:00.000-04:00

The planet earth and its inhabitants are no strangers to economic recession, depression or famine. Mankind has experienced these before and will experience it again at some point. However, the saints of God do not have to go down with the economy! In God’s economy there are no such things as recession, depression or famine.

WANT TO STAY ON TOP IN THE MIDST OF ECONOMIC CRISIS?

GET CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT SOURCE
Who is your source? If your source has been your business or job, then you have every reason to be worried. But if you choose God Almighty as your source, then you are in safe hands.

THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT GOD ALMIGHTY

He is called El Shaddai because He is all sufficient always
He is called Jehovah Jireh because He provides for Himself and His own
He is called The Way Maker because He alone can make a way where there seems to be none
He is called the God of impossibilities because He specializes in making impossible situations possible
He is called the Unchanging Changer because He can turn any kind of situation around without being changed Himself
He is the uncreated creator
He never leaves Himself without a witness. If He did something once, He can do it again

I noticed that some people spend so much monthly on groceries though they have pantries full of all kinds of food. Trying to understand why this is so, I asked a friend who shops that way. Her response was she feels very insecure if her pantry is not stock up because of the economic situation. “What if there is a famine for food?” she asked, “I like to have enough to carry me for a season if we ever found ourselves in a situation like that”. I have no problems with saving up for “the rainy days” but I if things went that bad, and your confidence in what you have stored up for yourself, you may find it very difficult to survive when disaster strikes. I told my friend that my strategy for preparing for economic crisis is as follows:

Be a good steward of God’s blessings in my life
Aim to be at the centre of God’s will daily
Learn to be content in whatever situation I find myself, master how to be abased and know how to abound, knowing that I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13)
Give thanks in all situations

I believe the above points are our responsibilities as believers. God’s part of the deal is settled forever. He’s proved Himself again and again all through the history of mankind, that He is unquestionably faithful to His own. I believe if things went so bad and God has to rain manna down from heaven like He did for the Israelites in the wilderness, He will do it again without hesitation. This is the main reason I do not fret over what to eat or drink.

Right from the book of Genesis right through to the book of Revelation, we see several incidences of famine or economic downturn, but all through those periods God never failed to provide for those who were faithful to Him. From Abraham down to the apostle Paul, God always made a way where there seemed to be no way.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise (Isaiah 43:19-21 KJV)

He made a way for Abraham to prosper when there was an economic recession in his country (Genesis 12:10-20)

He made a way for Isaac to prosper right in the midst of economic depression (Genesis 26: 1-6, 12-14)

He made a way for Jacob and his entire family when their country was plagued with famine (Genesis 45:9-11).

If you haven’t been a good steward of God’s blessings in your life, and have consequently found yourself in a bad situation, learn from it, repent seek God’s face. He will give you a strategy to come out of whatever mess you are in. This will require patience and perseverance on your part. Remember your mess did not happen overnight, so expect to go through the process of change, which always involves time. If you stay your new course, you will get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

No matter what happens in the days to come, you can count on God’s faithfulness, so stay connected to Him and like Noah and his family, He will keep you safe in the ARK OF HIS PRESENCE.

Have a great week!
With love,
Angela

HOW TO BE ABOVE AND NOT BENEATH

2008-03-31T02:14:00.000-04:00

And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: (Deuteronomy 28:13 KJV)

The above bible passage is God’s promise to us, are you living in that promise yet?

There are more average and below average people in life than there are champions. There are more people born into middle or lower class families than those born into upper class, but God’s plan for all of us is to be above and not beneath. His desire is for every one of us to excel in our destiny irrespective of our history. Regardless of where we started off in life, God has planned a colorful and bright future for all of us.

I talk a lot about success because I know we were wired to be massively successful in every area of our life. This was God’s original intent when He gave man dominion over creation (Genesis 1: 28). It is also the reason Jesus came to reconcile us back to the Father and sent us the Holy Spirit (Acts 1: 4-8, John16:12-13). No doubt God has done His part, but why are only very few experiencing this victory?

The answer lies in our attitudes towards taking responsibility. In life, rewards don’t go to the best, the smartest or the most talented rather the riches of life go to those rare people who take responsibility for themselves and what goes on around them. The degree that you can accept ultimate responsibility for what you currently have and where you’re at in your life dictates your ultimate success.

We have three options – justify, lay blame or take responsibility. Those who justify or lay blame empower their past to control their future. These will never rise to the top. Your best is never in your past but in your future and the pathway to reaching it is by taking responsibility.

Taking responsibility is called being honest with yourself, not blaming others or justifying but seeing how you played in a part in that situation and then doing something to change it.

How did mankind loose their place of dominion in the garden? It was by justifying and laying blame (Genesis 3:6-13). I’ve always wondered what could have happened if Adam and Eve simply took responsibility for their actions and asked for God’s forgiveness? Maybe things would have been different for all of us today. Unfortunately, a lot of people are still allowing Adam’s history to repeat itself in their lives. Jesus came as the second Adam and took the responsibility of the Adamic race upon Himself, that way He regained the dominion that was once lost and has made it available to everyone. However, only those who take responsibility can access this dominion.

Do you really want to live in God’s promise? Are you tired of being the tail rather than the head? Do you want to be on top of your game? Then review your life. I encourage you to look at the eight life areas (spiritual, health, money, family/social, partner, career, personal development and emotional) identify areas you’re currently justifying or laying blame and start taking responsibility. You’d be amazed at how empowered you become. If you stay on this path, nothing can hold you down.

You were destined for the top why remain at the bottom? Rise up, take responsibility and get your power back!

See you at the top!

With Love,

Angela

IT IS FINISHED!

2008-03-17T01:21:00.000-04:00

Of all the seasons of the year we commemorate as Christians, Easter is my favorite one because it represents the foundation of our Christian faith – the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus did not die for us, there will be no remission of our sins and if He was not raised from the dead, we’d have no hope or future. How great is our God to have paid the price for our redemption!

What inspires and motivates me the most about the Easter season is the last statement that Jesus made before giving up His spirit – “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That was a statement of triumph, not simply triumph over the enemy or victory on our behalf, but an accomplished milestone for Jesus. Can you imagine where we’d be if Jesus started His course and failed to finish? Paul was another person who made a similar statement “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Timothy 4:7).

It is one thing to be born, it is entirely another to finish the course you were predestined to run. Everyone who finishes their race leaves their footprints on the sand of time. Are you running in such a way that your prints will be left behind? If you examine yourself right now, can you confidently say you’re on track?

There are several reasons people do not finish their course, I will be discussing one today – ENERGY DRAINERS. Some peoples’ lives are like inefficient houses in the winter months. Though they have adequate supply of energy, the effect is not felt because of the cracks and lack of adequate insulation.

To fight a good fight and finish your course, you are going to need all the energy that heaven bestows upon you. When you loose energy, you could become demotivated and an easy prey for distraction. A broken focus births a broken destiny.

An example of energy drainers is the feeling of overwhelm. This could result from one of many causes:
· Carrying tomorrow’s burden with today’s grace. Otherwise known as WORRY. Some people have a Master’s degree in the art of worrying. Worry is a thief, it drains you physically, mentally and emotionally. It could even affect you physiologically. Jesus knew how destructive this behavior is and commanded us to flee from it.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34)

· Taking on strange yokes and burdens. We were designed to be yoke bearers and burden carriers, but our necks and shoulders were not designed to carry every kind of burden or yoke. If the yoke is strangling and the burden is so heavy that it hinders you from staying on course, you need to stop and check the manufacturer’s details of what you’re putting on because Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. If yours does not fit this description, you need to cast it upon the Lord. Life is too precious and time too short to go about carrying strange yokes and burdens. Satan has no jurisdiction over the life of a child of God, and it is illegal for him to put his burdens on you. Know your rights and insist upon them.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

· Another energy drainer is LIMITING BELIEFS. Our beliefs are our mental maps with which we navigate through life. We all have beliefs about everything. We start developing this map from our childhood, for some people, their maps seriously need updating. Check your beliefs and trash those that are no longer serving you. For example you may feel you are not good looking because the kids in your elementary school used to make fun of your size or height. It robbed you of self confidence then, but you have grown up and since moved on, you look different now and people even comment on how good looking you are. why are you still holding on to that childhood belief that is no longer serving you? Dump it. If you do not know how to dislodge limiting beliefs or how to create empowering beliefs to help you accomplish your goals, you may want to consider signing up for our Life Coaching Program.

· CLUTTER is an energy drainer. If you live in a clutter, then pull yourself together, get help if you have to, but by all means tidy up your house. Get rid of the junk in your physical space, you can’t blame Satan for the mess in your house, God expects you to be a good steward of all He blessed you with. He is a God of order not of chaos. Does your house keeping matter? Yes it does, because your home could either be an energizer or an energy drainer.

Life is serious business! Don’t short change yourself by hosting energy drainers. You need your sanity to stay focused and your strength to finish your race. If you have these in place you will not fall by the way side. At the end of your course you too can proudly say “IT IS FINISHED!”

Have a memorable Easter Celebration,

With Love,

Angela

TIPS FOR WINNING IN LIFE

2008-03-04T02:49:00.000-05:00

Everything in life is governed by some kind of principle. For example, if you fail to plan, you have by default planned to fail. Do you really want to win in life? If your answer is yes, then the following TIPS must be an integral part of your life:

Time is too short to waste your strength fighting every battle, pick your fights, know when to fight and when to walk away (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Everything has its place in life, don’t major on minors (1Corinthians 10:23, 1Timothy 6:20)
Be not ignorant of the devices of the enemy (2Corinthians 2:11), don’t try to resist when you ought to flee (1Corinthians 6:18, 2Timothy 2:22) and don’t take flight when you should resist (James 4:7, 1Peter 5:6-9)
Every opportunity is not your opportunity, know your seasons and seize your moments (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Followership precedes leadership. Discipleship precedes distinction (John13:13-17, Matthew 10:24-25)
If you want to be a leader, you must be a reader (2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 10:14)
Do not expect to be celebrated in your home town and by your own people as much as you are outside (Luke 4:24-27)
Make sure the evidence for your beliefs about your strengths are not all based on external validation. The people who build you up in one breath can pull you down in another (Luke 4:22, 28-30)
Aspire to be an authority in your field, be determined to leave your footprints on the sand of time (2Corinthians 13:11, 2Timothy 4:7)

How are your goals coming up? Are you still on track? If you are not, I urge you to seriously consider using our Life Coaching service, where your results are guaranteed if you follow the plan or your money back. Nothing worth doing is worth doing alone. With a coach you have a partner who won’t keep the profits!

One last tip before I sign off for this week – YOUR MIND IS THE DRAWING ROOM FOR YOUR TOMORROW, KEEP IT CLEAR OF GARBAGE.

Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Angela

WHAT IS HE WORTH TO YOU?

2008-02-26T01:06:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt in my heart that every professing Christian sees God as the all powerful One. But God’s omnipotence does not necessarily gain Him the most valuable position in people’s lives.

Luke 7:36-38, 44-46, tells us the story of Simon the Pharisee, who had enough faith to invite Jesus into his home but no corresponding actions to support his faith; therefore his faith without works was dead (James 2:17-18).

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:44-47 NIV)

It is said that actions speaks louder than words, the woman in the above passage confirms it. Without uttering a word, she was exalted from being a sinner to becoming a saint. Her actions spoke volumes of her faith. Her actions spoke what she could not find the right words to express.

Our actions come before God daily, what are yours saying on your behalf?

Simon had an opportunity of a life time but failed to seize it. He probably offered Jesus a good meal, but that was not what was required of him. If you serve a god who needs you to feed him, you are in big trouble because it means you are greater than your god. Luke 10:38-42, tells a story of Jesus’ visit to Martha’s home and how upset she was that her sister Mary sat at the feet of the Master leaving her to do all the cooking and serving. Jesus rebuked Martha for allowing herself to be distracted by her preparations. Our best gift to God when He comes into our lives is no more than our undivided attention and worship.

The value we place on anything in our lives determines the treatment and attention they get from us. The worth of a thing to us determines what we are willing to give up getting and keeping it. The value we place on our dreams determines who we are willing to become to achieve them.

In the story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:29-34) we are told how Esau sold his birthright for some bread and pottage of lentils, thus demonstrating his God given inheritance was worth nothing to him. By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late.

In Mark 10:17-22, we see a young ruler, who when he heard Jesus was passing through his area, ran with urgency, fell on his knees before the Lord, beseeching Jesus to show him the way to salvation. Jesus loved him and told him what to do. But his wealth was more valuable to him than the Master and His kingdom.

How valuable is God’s indwelling presence in your life to you? What is the kingdom of heaven truly worth to you?

Pursue your dreams, go after your goals, but in the midst of all that, I pray that God is worth more to you than anything else in the whole world. I pray that every step you take can attest to your profession of faith. If you stay faithful to Him, He will be faithful to you.
If He is worth everything to you, He can guarantee your success! If in doubt read 2 Samuel 22.

To your success!
With Love,
Angela

IS HE STILL A GUEST?

2008-02-18T01:05:00.000-05:00

When I was in secondary school, Bible Knowledge was a compulsory subject. It was also one of my favorite classes in my third year (ninth grade) for two reasons, I was intrigued by the stories in the Bible and especially because the subject was taught by my favorite teacher - Sister Theresa Okoye. We had about six arms of ninth graders (A-F). I remember checking the other classes’ timetable to see when they had Bible Knowledge and sometimes skipping my classes and sneaking into their class just to be close to Sister Theresa and hear her speak. She was my super star role model! She was worth the whole world to me, I was prepared to give up everything to hang around her and just listen to anything she had to say. I unashamedly sang about her, talked about her, and boasted about her, everyone knew I was her fan.

In one of her classes, she asked a question that revolutionized my life – “Who is the man Jesus Christ to you?” Though she was the one speaking, I felt like it was God the Father asking wanting to know who Jesus was to me personally. It felt like there was silence in heaven awaiting my response. It reminds me of when the angel Gabriel presented God’s proposal to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and how the inhabitants of heaven may have been silent awaiting Mary’s response and the joy that must have flooded their entire being, when Gabriel returned and announced “her answer was yes!” Sister Theresa was not in a hurry to get past that question. She waited for everyone to give an answer. That day was a defining moment in my life. I remember giving it a deep thought because I felt that whatever I publicly declare that Jesus was to me is what He will remain to me. I could hear my classmates giving their answers, they were saying things like “He is my Savior” “a friend” “the Son of God” “the Savior of the world” “Our provider” “Our protector”. Then it came to my turn, considering all the answers that have already been given, I realized He was all of that and more to me. I found myself declaring “He is my all in all” and He has been that ever since.

Today, I want to ask you the same question I was asked 25 years ago – who is Jesus Christ to you? I don’t want you to base your answer on who you think He should be or who you have been taught He is or even who you have heard other people say He is. Take a deep breath and pause for a moment, look inwards and ask yourself the question.

Jesus will be to us whatever we allow Him to be. He said he stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, if anyone opens to Him, He will come in and dine with the person and the person with Him (Revelation 3:20). This is only the first step to salvation. Sadly, some people do not press in beyond this point. As He dines with us and vice versa, it supposed to bring us to a place of realization of who He truly is and provoke a response in us to worship Him and surrender all to Him.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. (Luke 7:36-38, 44-46 NIV)

We see in the above Bible passage, that Simon the Pharisee was fascinated enough about Jesus to open the door of his home (his personal space, his life) and have Jesus come in to dine with him. True to His nature, Jesus accepted the invitation. Simon had an opportunity of a lifetime to transition from an acquaintance to a bond servant of the Lord, but he either failed to see the opportunity or refused to seize it.

Have you made the transition? Is Jesus still a guest in your life?

I’ve heard it said that one man’s test is another man’s testimony, Simon had a chance he passed on, not so for the renown sinful woman. She will not let such an opportunity pass her by. Based on her sinful reputation, I guess she may have forced her way into Simon’s house damning the consequences. She was not seeking to dine with the Lord; her heart was yearning for something deeper. She was wealthy from her trade; she must also have been a very attractive woman to maintain her clients. I also guess she may have been the envy of a lot of women who secretly wondered what it was about her that made the men in town keep paying for her services, sinful as it was.

This woman had fame (though it was through negative publicity being called sinful) and glamour but was sick and tired of her history. I imagine she was a woman that must have wined and dined with all calibers of men. But when she heard about the man from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, the one who is able to forgive sin and make you whole once again, the God of a second chance, the one who is able to make all things new and turn your mess into a message, your misery into a ministry, she was not going to be content with merely dining with such a one. She wanted to surrender her life to Him. She longed to worship Him damning the opinion of the people around her.

She did not even count herself worthy enough to stand in His presence, so she stood behind Him, wet His feet with her tears (she must have shed buckets of it!), wiped them with her glory (her hair) and anointed them with her substance. What a demonstration of reverence! She became the hero of the day!

While some people are struggling with how far they want to walk this Christian walk with God, how much of themselves do they want Him to rule over, where do they want to draw the line, there are some people who are laying it all down before Him – their time, pride, ambitions, past, present, and future, not caring what their peers, the media or even their family will think or say concerning them.

If God was grouping people in either category, where will He place you?

This is not all that is laid on my heart concerning this matter, I will continue from here next week. I hope you’ll be back to read the rest of this message?

Until then,

With Love,

Angela

FOCUS ON THE SUNNY SIDE

2008-02-04T00:18:00.000-05:00

Hi!
February the month of love is here! This is one of my favorite months of the year because of the theme it represents – love. I enjoy being loved and I’m thankful for God’s amazing love for me. I am also thankful for the people who love me. I am aware there are some people that don’t like this month because of what it stands for. For them it brings back memories that are best buried in the sea of forgetfulness. But you don’t have to stay sad over the past. In life, we will all experience the sweet and the bitter. Life is like a coin, there will always be two sides to it, but what side of the coin you choose to focus on will determine your disposition towards life and ultimately your success, both spiritual and material.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

What does God want to achieve by giving us this command? He wants our focus to be on love because God is Love! (1John 4:8). If we focus on the love side of life – all the good and lovely things and people that God has sent into our lives, we will never stay sad. In fact, we will be happy and thankful all the time!

What does a merry heart do? It is medicine to our bodies and it makes a cheerful countenance! (Proverbs 15:13, 17:22).

A merry heart is an energizer; you will need it to follow through on your goals.

Life is a journey to be savored, go through it focusing on the sunny side!

To your success!

With love,

Angela

KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING

2008-01-27T22:29:00.000-05:00

Hi,

Thanks for coming back! I sincerely hope you’re blessed each time you visit this page? If you are, I’d be honored to hear from you.

Last week I wrote on how to go about setting great goals and I hope you have set your goals? In Coaching, I use a chart called ‘the Life wheel’ consisting of eight different life areas – Emotional, Health, Partner, Vocation, Money, Personal Development, Family/Social and Spiritual to assist the client identify where the individual is (in their own mind) in life on all of the life areas. Very rarely will you find anyone with a perfectly balanced wheel. This exercise helps people see and decide which area of their life is causing the imbalance in their life and they are able to decide whether or not they want to do something about it.

This week, my heart’s cry to everyone is – no matter what life areas we choose to work on this year, let’s remember to KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING.

WHAT IS THE MAIN THING?
The main thing is that we are all here for a purpose and only for a season of life. We do not own ourselves; we belong to God. Life is not really about us, it is about the purpose for which we’ve been sent to be participants in life.

The main thing is that we as Christians are ALIENS in this world (1Peter 2:11), as aliens we are called to be transformed not to be conformed to the ways of this world. We are in the world but not of it. To each of us a season was appointed to accomplish our assignment, enough time to get the job done, after which our rewards awaits us.

The main thing is as aliens we ought not to go about life focusing on the ‘seen’, for all that is seen is temporary – be they mansions, accolades, trials or ‘peoples opinions’; we ought to go through life focusing on the unseen (2Corinthians 4:18) – our Invisible and Invincible God, who is eternal and forever praised!

The main thing is there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.

The main thing is to be about our heavenly Father’s business, hoping to hear Him say to us on that day – “Well done! Good and Faithful servant!

The main thing is by the end of today, we will be 24 hours closer to the return of our Lord than we were yesterday but until He calls for us, we ought to remain the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

I encourage you to aim for the stars in pursuit of the dreams that God has placed in your heart, at worst you may land in the moon, but in the midst of your pursuits, remember to KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING, for it’s only what the Sovereign Lord thinks of you that would count and His opinion does count for all eternity!

Keep your light shinning!
With Love,
Angela