Do you Know the Signs?

Many times, we misinterpret others and they also misinterpret us. Why is this so? 

When we communicate with others, there are non-verbal nuances (e.g. tone of voice) that punctuate our words and when the recipient does not know how to accurately decode these non-verbal cues, misinterpretation may occur. 

When communicating with the Holy Spirit, it is not just enough to understand the pattern through which He communicates with us, it is also very important to be able to understand the exact thing He is saying to us. If our obedience will hold any water, then we have to hear Him CLEARLY, else, we may find ourselves doing what He has not asked us to do, though we heard Him speak to us. If we must hear Him clearly, then we must sharpen our decoding skills. 



We all agree that no matter how well an individual can manipulate a vehicle, he/she cannot be considered a good driver, neither will there be any commendation for him/her, if the ability to read traffic signs is not present. Imagine such individual does not know that RED means STOP, there is a risk of running red light and probably killing someone in the process. If he/she stops when the sign signals GO with GREEN, there is the risk of being bashed from behind or causing traffic jam thereby constituting a nuisance to road users. If there is no understanding of what AMBER stands for, there is always the risk of making one mistake or the other.

It's of no use being able to hear the Holy Spirit when He speaks, if the ability to decode Him clearly is absent. We will hear Him alright but we may misinterpret Him, and what disaster that will be! We will stop when He asks us to go and go when He asks us to stop. We will not understand when He's prompting us to wait or when He's asking us to take action. We will only make guesses that are far from being accurate.

The Bible has a record of a certain tribe in Israel, gifted in decoding the signs. 
"From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take." 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NLT)

Did you see that? They understood the signs and therefore knew the course of action. Understanding the signs gave them an accurate judgement of what to do. It is crucial for us to understand the signs! We must crave to know the Holy Spirit so intimately such that we can pick on His communication cues ever so easily. That way we will not be grasping at straws in the bid to understand His instructions for us. We will not be confused about what action to take per time. 

May we receive grace and ability to know and understand the Holy Spirit's language. Amen

Shalom! –By Ayotunde.

Learn: Never EVER Talk Bad Of Your Husband To Anyone!!!

Wow! someone out there might need this! “Biyi hasn’t worked for that long?” Dayo’s voice drips with resentment. “For real?” “He’s been trying,” I say in feeble attempt to defend my husband. “You know how the economy is.” …My husband and I had vowed never to bring in a third party into our relationship but with a bank account screaming for revival, I need to share my burden with someone else.

I grip the phone. Dayo is unusually quiet. “You still there?” I ask. “Hello?” “I am here,” she says. “I just didn’t know things were this bad. And all this while, I thought Biyi was providing for the home.” But he is, I argue silently. Well, maybe not financially for now, but in every way else, Biyi is a rock. “It’s not that bad.” My words sound frail. Dayo clucks her tongue. “You might as well be a widow.” The words hit me like a fist. “Na you I blame,” she continues, oblivious to the damage her words

Baby Delivered Inside 'Sac' Behaved as still in womb (PHOTO)

It looks like movie trick or call it miracle, a doctor has recorded the moment he delivered a baby inside an intact amniotic sac.  God is great!

The photo was taken by Obstetrician, Aris Tsigris after he delivered a baby through caesarean section. He uploaded the photo on Facebook.

According to the doctor, because the sac had not been punctured, the baby did not even realise it had been born and behaved as if it was still inside the mother’s womb.

The amniotic sac is a bag of fluid inside the womb where the unborn baby develops and grows. It is also referred to as the ‘membranes’, because the sac is made of two membranes called the amnion and the chorion. The sac is filled with clear, pale fluid, in which the unborn baby floats and moves.

The fluid helps to cushion the baby from bumps and injury, as well as providing them with fluids that they can breathe and swallow. The fluid also maintains a constant temperature for the baby.

The amniotic sac starts to form and fill with fluid within days of a woman conceiving.

Amniotic fluid is mainly water but from about week 10 onwards, the baby passes small amounts of urine into the fluid. 

Source talkofnaija.com

Inspirational: Everyone Should Watch This At Least Once

This video is SO powerful. We are all amazing people. Disabled mannequins will be eliciting astonished looks from passers-by on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse today. Between the perfect mannequins, there will be figures with scoliosis or brittle bone disease modelling the latest fashions. One will have shortened limbs; the other a malformed spine. The campaign has been devised for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by Pro Infirmis, an organisation for the disabled. Entitled “Because who is perfect? Get closer.” it is designed to provoke reflection on the acceptance of people with disabilities. Director Alain Gsponer has captured the campaign as a short film. SHARE with friends and family. This is such a great message. See the Pics & video below it so poweful:

Get more from petflow.com and pics from theinspirationroom.com 

Giving to God's Work

TEXT: NEHEMIAH 7:70-73

Key verse: “And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests’ garments” (Nehemiah 7:72).

Bountiful giving is usually borne out of love - he who loves much, gives much. Absolute love gives absolutely. God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son. Jesus, the Son, loved all to the extent of surrendering His life as a ransom for ALL. Those who receive Christ ought to surrender their all, as a voluntary, yet mandatory and reciprocal gesture.

The text is an account of the prodigious offerings rendered towards the work of God. The Tirshatha (governor of Israel), the chief fathers and the entire people all contributed bountifully. The Tirshatha gave the equivalence of $5,280 apart from 50 gold basons and 530 garments for the priests. The chief fathers provided $246,400, while the generality of the people gave the equivalence of $233,500. It was consequent upon this generous giving that the priest, Levites, porters, singers, Nethmims (temple servants) were able to return to their cities. They gave so that God’s servants would be provided the leverage to perform their duties without let or hindrance.

Whatever we offer God can never equal what God first gave us. Jesus, God’s free gift, has opened the floodgates of blessings to ALL. Consequently, we ought to give back to God, without measure. Our giving must not be acknowledged in terms of its magnitude. It can only be meaningful when it is done sacrificially.

The way to commence and cultivate the art of giving is by first surrendering our heart (Proverbs 23:26). That done, we will not count any gift too high or big to give to God. Secondly, we lay our all on the altar and be prepared to offer both tangible and intangible gifts without conditions attached. Our guiding principle in life must be to do all things to His glory. And as we do all this, God promises great reward in time and eternity for the faithful.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “He which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully”.

10 Natural Ways To Remove Stretch Marks

Have you ever noticed the leather bag that you carry with all the stuff under the sun? It gets so stretched that it reaches the limit of its elasticity. It is then, when you see those wrinkle type marks on your old overused leather bag. You discard it and buy a new one. But you cannot do this with your own skin! Yes, your skin is composed of elastin which can be thought of as a soft elastic tissue. It is soft, supple and stretchable but it too has its own limits. Some situations exert extra pressure on your skin such as sudden weight gain or loss, pregnancy and even rapid growth of your body during teenage. Sometimes while exercising too, you stretch your body out of its limits. In such situations you get those thick red or purple lines on your skin which is popularly known as stretch marks. Gradually these lines do fade away and become white or silvery white in color but they don’t go away on their own. You have to put efforts to remove these stretch marks. Here are some home remedies to help you with your task.

Natural Remedies to Remove Stretch Marks

1. Apricot Mask to Remove Stretch Marks

Many people use apricot scrub for rapid removal of stretch marks from their skin. However, I am giving you the recipe of a mask made from apricot that you have to apply on your stretch marks daily for at least a month or more.

Get these things:
• Apricots- 2-3
• Lukewarm water- enough to wash off your skin having marks.

Do this:
• Cut open the apricots and remove their seeds.
• Crush the fruits to get their paste.
• Apply this apricot paste on your stretch marks.
• Leave for about 15-20 minutes.
• Now wash off with warm water.
• Repeat everyday (you may initially do it twice a day) for a month.

2. Aloe Vera to Remove Stretch Marks

Benefits of aloe vera are now very popular among the fans of home remedies. This herb has in it the plant collagen which excellently repairs human skin too. Use, as far as possible, the fresh aloe gel taken from the leaves instead of using store bought gel.

Get this:
• Aloe vera leaf

Do this:
• De-thorn the aloe vera leaf and remove its outer skin.
• Take out the sticky gel from the inside of the leaf.
• Apply this fresh aloe gel on your stretch marks.
• Now forget it for two hours.
• Wash off with water after this couple of hours.

3. Oils to Remove Stretch Marks

Natural oils are excellent emollients and they have this capacity to treat all scalp and hair problems as also skin issues including stretch marks. You just need to identify the right type of oil for the very purpose. You should ideally gently massage your skin having stretch marks with oil for about half an hour daily. However, just applying oils to the marks (something near to soaking them in oil) can also do wonders. If doing so, you need to apply oil for about three to four times a day. Olive oil, with all its antioxidant properties and loads of nutrients, is considered one of the best oils for removing stretch marks but there are many other oils that you can use. They too are good when it comes to curing stretch marks. Here is the list.
• Olive oil
• Lavender oil
• Rose oil
• Frankincense oil
• Myrrh oil
• Geranium oil
• Helichrysum oil
• Chamomile oil

The best thing will be to mix certain oils and then apply to the marks. Here’s the recipe.

Get this:
• lavender oil- ½ tsp
• Chamomile oil- ½ tsp
• Almond oil- 2 tsp ( you can use any other carrier oil like avocado oil, jojoba oil etc. in place of almond oil)

Do this:
• Mix lavender, chamomile oils with almond or the other carrier oil that you are using.
• Mix them well.
• Apply this oil mix to your stretch marks daily.
• Do this preferably thrice or four times a day.

4. Potato Juice to Remove Stretch Marks

This is the cheapest and one of the rapid home remedies for stretch marks. Potato is a super food due to its many components like essential fatty acids and a variety of phytochemicals, like carotenoids and polyphenols. It also has loads of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin-C, B-complex, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and zinc. Because a potato is capable of stimulating collagen and elastin synthesis, it can effectively restore skin cells fading away your stretch marks.

Get this:
 
• Potato- 1 (medium sized)
• Knife- to cut potato
• Lukewarm water- to wash off

Do this:
• Cut the potato into thick sized slices.
• Take a slice and rub it gently over your stretch marks. Ensure to apply its juice all over your marks.
• Leave it for 5-10 minutes.
• Wash off with lukewarm water.

5. Lemon Juice to Remove Stretch Marks

Lemons have been recognized as fine natural bleaching agents beyond doubt. The alpha hydroxy acids

Warn the People

TEXT: ISAIAH 6:9-13

Key verse: “And he said: Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (Isaiah 6:9).

Few things are as despairing as when there is a prior knowledge that one’s action will have little or no effect on the situation at hand. Not surprising, many people would avoid getting involved in what appears to be a waste of time.

Not so for Isaiah. He had just offered himself to run errands for the Lord. So, when he was handed a very strange message to convey to his people about their impending ruin, he had no choice. He received no assurance of great success, but that the people will defiantly ignore him and the word of God - their only means of reconciliation with God. Isaiah’s message was to foreshadow the rejection of Jesus Christ by the Jews of His time. They would neither recognise nor accept Him. Startled by this message, Isaiah wondered whether his labour was to be totally in vain. Not so, the Lord responded. A few would listen. They would serve to show that God’s mercy is available for those who turn away from their despicable ways.

 
Today’s Christians have the same task to preach the gospel. They should not become despondent because fewer people are accepting the good news. In Noah’s time, only eight people were saved from the deluge. Only four people escaped from Sodom and Gomorrah, while only three made it to safety.

Far from being despondent, we should encourage people not to wait until disaster strikes before turning to God. We should tell them that His mercy and love can avail for them if they show the willingness to amend their evil ways. Spreading the gospel is not only because of Christ’s command to all Christians, it is the only worthwhile activity with which the Lord expects us to occupy ourselves.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The greatest gift you can give is a timely warning