The Most Excellent Way

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1 Corinthians 12:31ย The Voiceย
Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent wayโlove.
1 Corinthians 13 ย The Voice
Gifts of the Spirit, which are intended to strengthen the church body, often divide the body because members of the church elevate those who possess the more visible gifts over those whose gifts function in the background. In fact, this is the very problem facing the Corinthians. So while talking about the importance and function of these gifts in chapters 12 and 14, Paul shifts his focus to the central role love plays in a believerโs life in chapter 13. Love is essential for the body to be unified and for members to work together. Members of the body that are very different, with little in common, are able to appreciate and even enjoy others because of the love that comes when a life is submitted to God.
What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. 3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts.
Paul boils it all down for the believers in Corinth. Religious people often spend their time practicing rituals, projecting dogma, and going through routines that might look like Christianity on the outside but that lack the essential ingredient that brings all of it togetherโlove! It is a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers, so faith doesnโt appear to be meaningless noise.
4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love isnโt envious, doesnโt boast, brag, or strut about. Thereโs no arrogance in love; 5 itโs never rude, crude, or indecentโitโs not self-absorbed. Love isnโt easily upset. Love doesnโt tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truthโyes, truthโis loveโs delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. 8 Love will never become obsolete. Now as for the prophetic gifts, they will not last; unknown languages will become silent, and the gift of knowledge will no longer be needed. 9 Gifts of knowledge and prophecy are partial at best, at least for now, 10 but when the perfection and fullness of Godโs kingdom arrive, all the parts will end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke, thought, and reasoned in childlike ways as we all do. But when I became a man, I left my childish ways behind. 12 For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain; these three virtues must characterize our lives. The greatest of these is love.
Tomorrow

Always put off until tomorrow what you shouldnโt do at all.
Morris Mandel
Nobody Ever Outgrows Scripture

Daily Prompt: The Outsiders

Todayโs daily promptย “Tel us about the experience of being outside, looking in โ however youโd like to interpret that. Photographers, artists, poets: show us OUTSIDEโ
ย Thought iโd use my photo of Abbie taking a photo of big Ben. Iโm on the outside looking in, and weโre both outside too! ๐
ย See more of my Daily Prompts
Between Two Thieves

The cross must be raised again at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am claiming that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap, at a crossroads so cosmopolitan they had to write His title in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. At the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble, because that is where He died and that is what he died about and that is where churchmen ought to be and what churchmen should be about.
George Macleod
Walk In The Way

There is only one basis for really enjoying life, and that is, to walk in the way in which God leads you. Then you are prepared to find delight in all sorts of wayward incidentsโฆ.When a man is drifting through life, seeking nothing outside of self-gratification, the world must become increasingly a barren and forbidding wilderness. But it is wonderful how many delights fall to the lot of him who is led by God. For such a one the clasp of a friendโs hand, a cool drink in the heat of noon, a merry salutation from a passing traveler, a glimpse of beauty by the road, a quiet resting place at night, are all full of unspeakable pleasure.
Leaves of Gold
Honourable Intentions & Horrible Implementation

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” โ Oprah Winfrey
New Year’s resolutions usually reveal honourable intentions and horrible implementation. It’s not a coincidence that we joke far more about breaking resolutions than we talk about making them. It seems like the best way to break a promise is to make one with your whole heart. What’s the problem? Resolutions focus on you. But revolutions focus on God.
Revolutionary Statement #1: To get an accurate view of yourself, focus on Him!
Agur, who wrote Proverbs chapter 30, gives an excellent example of this kind of focus:
“Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!” โ verses 2-4
The answer to all of the questions is GOD, not ME. But even the best sounding New Year’s resolutions focus on what you can do rather than on what God has done and is doing. One of the favorite Christian New Year’s resolutions is: I’m going to have a quiet time of prayer and Bible study every day. I’m all for that, by the way, but it sets you up for failure because the focus is on you, and not on Him. Can you see that?
A revolutionary prayer, on the other hand, would be focused on God, asking Him to reveal Himself in any way that He sees fit โ through the Word, through prayer, through nature, etc. Someone who makes resolutions believes they can get closer to God by their own strength. But the heart of a godly revolutionary is honest about his ignorance and inability to understand and relate to God on his own.
Lord, I want to know You more. Deep within my soul I want to know You. In the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I ask that You would stir up this desire I have to be intimate with You. I depend on You today, and every day this year, to reveal Yourself to me in any way that You choose. Amen.
Article by Pete Briscoe
Stop Us In Our Tracks

Heavenly Father,ย We think we are ready for Christmas โฆNot because we have read the pages of the Bible, but because we have read our credit card statements,ย And they say that we have left no stone unturned, and no gift unbought, if still unpaid for.ย We stand ready to stagger under the weight of Christmas,ย To eat and drink far too much,ย To party with the best of them,ย And to worry all the time that weโve forgotten something.ย And weโll do it all, not always because we want to, but because everyone else is doing it, and weโll go along for the ride.
Somewhere in all of this, Father, please feel free to stop us.ย Any place, any time, just stop us in our tracks.ย Stop us, grab our attention, and then place your gift in our hands where we can see it,ย And in our hearts where we can feel it.ย The gift of knowing that, a little over two thousand years ago, you stepped into the history of this world and placed yourself in a manger in a dirty backstreet stable,ย And called yourself a Christ-Child. It was then that we could see you and understand you as we had never been able to do before: As Creator, as Spirit, and as a man who would walk unerringly towards a Cross.
Everything else, all the food, the fun, the partying, none of it matters, and none of it has any point at all, unless we grasp this simple, beautiful gift and press it close to our hearts and keep it thereโฆ..โฆ.. that we live with you, that we are one with you, Our Lord Immanuel.
What else is there to say?
Except thank you, Amen.
My Thoughts ๐ญ
Our fantastic minister Nik convicted us with this prayer earlier this evening at our evening service, and she kindly let me share it with my loving brothers & sisters on iChristian! ๐
Impressions About Christmas

“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.” โย Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Most of our impressions about Christmas revolve around concepts like “peace” and “harmony” and “unity.” But the first Christmas was filled with intense contrasts. On one hand, we have Herod who is willing to murder countless innocent babies in order to save his position as king. Then there are the three Magi, the wise men from the east:
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. โย Matthew 2:11
These were gifts of great monetary and symbolic value:
- MYRRHย was a substance used in embalming fluid. This little boy had been born to die as the Savior of mankind! So in giving that gift, the wise men said, “You are Savior, You are worthy to be trusted, we trust You fully.”ย
- INCENSEย was burned in the Tabernacle and in the Temple as an act of worship to God. In giving frankincense, they were saying, “You are God, and You are worthy to be worshiped!”ย
- GOLDย was a gift given to kings. In giving the gold to Jesus, they said, “You are King, You are worthy to be followed.”
There was a time when your sinful nature was inclined to do what Herod did โ clinging to and defending your position as king of your own life. But now that you are in Christ, now that your sinful nature has been crucified with Him (Romans 6), now that His Holy Spirit lives within you (Romans 8), you can listen to His voice that invites you to bow down and worship the Child as Savior and King today.
Jesus, my Lord! With great joy, I follow the leading of Your Spirit in my heart today. I bow before You as my Savior and my King. May my words, thoughts, and actions all be expressions of sincere worship to You. Amen.
How Better We Can Love

Is life not full of opportunities for learning love? Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them. The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love.
Henry Drummond
Believe Well, Speak Well
Be Renewed!
Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,ย evenย the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2)
We live in a very negative world. Evil reports spread and sell faster than good news. It is very easy to go along with the flow, thinking and speaking like โJoe Bloggsโ around us at the work place, living down the road from us, and even attending the same Church with us. Just trying to fit into the mould and conform to this world standard.
But, God tells us that we are not of this world, the Bible says weโฆ
View original post 433 more words
“But You Gave Me Two”

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A Worldly Lifestyle
My Thoughts ๐ญย
Iโve just finished reading this interesting article (see below) which i can relate too a lot, as iโve been through this particular growth stage by cleaning up my music library, well more like deleting the whole lot and starting again! Have you had a similar conviction after giving you life to Jesus? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.ย
Why Christians should not listen to secular music
โBut ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous lightโ โ 1 Peter 2:9.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. โ 1 John 2:15-17.
Hip pop secular music and ChristianityOne sad truth in Christendom is the fact that many Christians do not recognize their identity in Christ. Being a Christian goes a lot more beyond being called a Christian. โBeing a Christian is a work of a moment but living a Christian is a work of a lifetime,โ Billy Graham observed.
Every Christian has a unique story to tell. However, in the midst of each story is a loving God who gave up is life as ransom for our sins. Different things and different circumstances had over the years led many to Jesus Christ. Every believer reading this post has been delivered from bondage of some sort. The Lord Jesus had met each of us at different points of our lives. Some have been delivered from drugs, others from excessive partying, clubbing and sexual promiscuity. And many others have been delivered from worldly lusts: the lust for money, the lust for material possessions, and greediness.
But when we become born again by the blood of the Lamb, we become new creatures (2 Corinthians 2:17), we become the sons and daughters of God (John 1:12), but most significant, we become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and peculiar people. The attributes and identities of believers have been made evident by the apostle Peter (See 1 Peter 2:9). There is a reason why God gives the believer all this attributes. It is so that we can โshow forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous lightโ โ 1 Peter 2:9b.
What does it mean to show forth the praises of God?
I believe it means doing away with worldly lifestyle; secular music, secular movies and anything that do not glorify our Heavenly Father who loved us and sent His Son to die to save us. The scripture says โI am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for meโ โ (Galatians 2:20). Being in Christ means we are no more of the world. We have been delivered from the darkness and are now nigh to the marvelous light of God in Christ. This is why every Christian must grow to a point in their life where they can boldly say NO to secular music and all the profanity and deception that go with it.
How to Stop Listening to Secular Music
The lesson in Galatians 2:20 is that Christ lives in us. Every believer must always be conscious of the fact that Christ lives in us. Whenever you are tempted to sing or play a secular music, pause and ask yourself, โWill Jesus listen to this song I am listening to? Will He dance to this song I am dancing to? I have found this questioning approach to be an effective way to stop or quit listening to hip and secular music.
Alternatively Christians can stop listening to secular music by listening to more godly music. I used to really love hip pop, R & B and rap music. Now I am in Christ and I still enjoy these genres but I do it this time to edify myself and to praise the LORD my God. I no more listen to those secular artistes singing and rapping about sex, money, drugs and girls. Instead I listen to Christian rap music, Contemporary gospel and gospel reggae. It is the same rhythm but with edifying and uplifting lyrics. Just take a look at the music video below and you will understand what I am talking about. The song is by Lecrae(a Christian rapper). God bless you!ย
Finding Christ in Christmas ~
CHRISTian poetry ~ by deborah ann
I canโt find Christ in CHRISTmas,
itโs like they erased away His name
replacing Him with some greetings
that just donโt mean the same.
Happy Holidays,
is just too bland and generic
although itโs sounds pleasant
it doesnโt capture the true spirit.
Season Greetings,
doesnโt express or say anything
about the life-saving reason
the season we are celebrating.
Merry Xmas,
can it get any worse?
Yet, people can say Jesus Christ
when they swear and curse.
I canโt find Christ in CHRISTmas,
the world continues to resist
the Savior born on CHRISTmas
itโs as if He doesnโt even exist!
~~~~~~~~
Isaiah 9:6
King James Version
โFor unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government
shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall
be called Wonderful Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.โ
Copyright 2013
Deborah Ann Belka
The Masterpiece
The Masterpiece
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
There is a story about a wealthy man and his only son who travelled the world together collecting priceless paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and many other masters. Tragically, the son died at war while rescuing others. Distraught and lonely, the old man dreaded the upcoming Christmas day.
Christmas morning, a young soldier knocked on his door and said, โIโm a friend of your son. Iโm one of the ones he rescued.โ Then the soldier presented a picture he had painted of the son. Though the picture lacked genius, the brokenhearted father saw the features of his precious son and immediately valued this painting above all the masterpieces in his home. Every day, the father gazed at the portrait and told his housekeeper of his great love for it.
When the father died, the art world buzzed with excitement over the sale of his extraordinary art collection on Christmas day.
The first item offered was the painting of the son, but no one in the self-important crowd would bid on the amateurish portrait. The auctioneer insisted that the terms of the will required the portrait must be sold before any other paintings could be offered. Finally, the housekeeper, tears streaming down her cheeks, said to the auctioneer, โMay I pay ten dollars for it? That is all the money I have. I knew the son, and I know how much the father treasured that portrait.โ The auctioneer said, โThe bid is ten dollars. Going once, going twice, gone,โ and the gavel fell.
The auctioneer then announced that the auction was over. โWhat do you mean?โ said the stunned audience. โThere must be hundreds of millions of dollars of art here.โ The auctioneer replied, โIt is very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son gets it all.โ
Like the art collectors, not everyone can see the real value of a relationship with Jesus. John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came to His own but His own received Him not. They did not accept the precious gift of Godโs Son, a gift that brings with it all the blessings and love of God.
If you are not intentional about recognizing and receiving Jesus Christ, you will have nothing in the end, and there will be no negotiation of Godโs terms. Godโs Son may have been born in the most humble of circumstances in a manger in Bethlehem, but He is coming back in power and glory. The next time we see Jesus, things will be very different from His first coming. Not only will He be the King of kings but He will be a judge and we will be held accountable for our lives.
Read John 3:18-36 and Revelations 3:16. Clearly, there are two categories of people: those who fully accept the Son as the only means to the Father and those who donโt. People who are indifferent or neutral about the Son will miss the opportunity to live eternally with the Father in Heaven. It is not enough to believe Jesus was a good man or a prophet; James 2:19 says that even the devil believes and โtrembles.โ
Have you said โYesโ to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Luke 15:7 says there will be joy in Heaven when you do. Tell the Father today about your love for His Son. Ask God to protect your heart from being neutral or complacent about your devotion to Jesus. Is there someone you know who needs to acknowledge Jesus as Savior? Pray about being intentional about introducing them to the Son.
Blessed Is He That Readeth

Revelation 1:1-3ย King James Version
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
No Broadband! :(

No broadband since last Sunday! Itโs come back on for a little while but Virgin Media may still have some more repairs to do. Hope to be back at full speed soon! ๐ฆ
If I Condemn You, Blame Me Not.

Ye call Me Master and obey me not,
Ye call Me Light and see Me not,
Ye call Me Way and walk not,
Ye call Me Life and desire Me not,
Ye call Me wise and follow Me not,
Ye call Me fair and love Me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask Me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust Me not,
Ye call Me noble and serve Me not,
Ye call Me mighty and honor Me not,
Ye call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame me not.
inscription inside the Lรผbeck Cathedral, Germany.
Furry Angel

2 years ago today we said goodbye to Bruce (Furry Angel). We still miss him, his character & his ability to love at all times! We also miss his squeaky toys at Christmas too! ๐
Genesis 9:12ย (NIV)
And God said, โThis is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:ย
Distinctive Mark Of A Christian

A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution.
Billy Graham
Update #2 On ‘Join Me In Prayer For Sarah’

Hi, sorry itโs been a little over two week since the last update, but weโve been waiting for this mornings appointment before we could bring you more news.
Sarahโs had a few complications in the last couple of weeks, so weโve been back and forward to the hospital to try and narrow down whats causing them. Sarahโs cornea developed a scratch and an infection which was causing her a lot of pain and irritation. (understatement!) ย They first gave her more eye drops and said to come back in a couple of days.
We returned with more irritation, sleep depravation (the pain has been keeping Sarah awake) and Sarahโs eyesight had become very poor, Sarah said โitโs like trying to look through a frosted glass windowโ. Another doctor said that Sarah maybe allergic to the preservatives in the eye drops, and prescribed “preservative free” eye drops. We then had to wait 10 dayโs before this mornings appointment.
The doctor said that he could see no sign of infection, and the scratch had healed and disappeared. Yay! But the reason that the eye is healing so slowly and continues to be very sensitive is the Diabetes. The nuropathy is slowing the healing, making the eye feel like itโs about to burst and maintaing the extremely itchy painful irritation thatโs driving Sarah crazy, which, is making her really fed up. ๐ฆ
We have another appointment in two weeks time and iโll keep you lovely friends updated. Sarah was really hoping to be back at work this week and is trying her best not to feel too inpatient!ย
We both thank you all so much for the love, kindness, prayers and support as you journey through this with us. Canโt thank you enough! ๐
See also:
Why Christmas?

Why Christmas?
Because God loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son, sending Him into the world as a poor baby so that He could show you how to live.
Even more than that,
that He might be your life. He lived perfectly, died a grizzly death, shed His blood so that your sins might be removed, so that you will not perish, but spend forever with Him.
Have you received this gift?
The Spirit Of Christmas

โThe spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.โ
Stuart Briscoe
The Truth Is…

ย The LIE
Genesis 3:4-5ย The Voice
Serpent: Die? No, youโll not die. God is playing games with you. 5 The truth is that God knows the day you eat the fruit from that tree you will awaken something powerful in you and become like Him: possessing knowledge of both good and evil.
My Thoughts ๐ญ
Do you hear the whispers thet are making you feel like your missing out on something, you need more to be finally fulfilled, telling you that you need the latest โฆโฆ……(fill in the blank with any worldly/created item) ย to be satisfied?!
Itโs a LIE, and we still fall for it everyday!
ย The Truthย
2 Peter 1:3-4ย The Voice
His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect Godโs true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue. Through these things, we have received Godโs great and valuable promises, so we might escape the corruption of worldly desires and share in the divine nature.
God took the first step to rescue us from this corrupt world. He has granted us His power, revealed to us true knowledge, and spoken to us great promises. He has done all this for a reason: that we might participate in His own nature and reflect His own life. But we are not passive observers of Godโs saving actions. We must receive His grace, grow in knowledge, and join Him in this work of redemption.
Listen out for the LIE, then, remember we have everything we need in Jesus!
Verbal Sunshine

Be generous with encouragement. It is verbal sunshine. It costs nothing and it warms hearts.

January 14, 2014 

















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