LOOKING BEYOND YOUR NEEDS EVEN WHEN IN PAIN

When your pain is too strong, most of the times, we are so blinded by the pain...
When one is distressed, it looks like your situation is the worst in the world, and you tend to concentrate on getting a way out of your situation, or you are busy welling up self-pity! WHY ME....
Self pity, Anger, Frustration, Finger pointing, Jealousy towards those who have what you don't
Then you start to take it out on the people around you......as if they are the ones who caused you the problem.

Naomi, a woman of many sorrows.
Left her kinsmen a fully fulfilled woman. In those times when having sons was everything you needed to be a proud woman. Sons went to war. Sons worked on the farms, if you have them, you are sure to be rich....Naomi, had her hopes raised of being well taken care of in her old age. She must have been the envy of many of the women of the time.

But then, it all changed, she lost her husband suddenly. Consoled that all was not lost, she still had her two sons...who took wives and she was reassured that there was hope.
In not too long ten years later, SUDDENLY, BOTH SONS DIED!
Dont even think, what was going though her mind. ALL THAT SHE HAS LIVED FOR WAS GONE.....

Naomi , sad and mournful made a move to return, empty-handed , back to her people.
Ruth 1:20-21 MSG ;But she said, “Don’t call me Naomi; call me Bitter. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full of life, and God has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back. Why would you call me Naomi? God certainly doesn’t. The Strong One ruined me.”

But what Naomi did in spite of her disaster is the lesson from today's teaching........LOOKING BEYOND YOUR NEEDS EVEN WHEN IN PAIN.

Ruth 3:1-4 NLT
One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
Ruth 4:13-17 NLT
So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the lord , who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.

Naomi cared less about herself now, she focused on Ruth......to be fair, Ruth was no longer her business. The men in the family were supposed to sort out her redemption.
But Naomi, put herself in a position to restore Ruth to favour and married life.
She told her how to even make herself attractive. Haaaaaa.....when most mother in laws will still be cursing you that you brought bad luck to their family!!!!!!!!!! And the talk about any other man having you is like an abomination.

This action gave Naomi her own life back. The same people who may have gossiped that she killed her husband and two sons came back to celebrate the restoration in her family. They proclaimed NAOMI HAS A SON AGAIN......This son produced Jesus in their lineage.

What is your reaction towards life challenges?
How do you relate with people when things are not going the way you planned?
When your husband is misbehaving, the house-help suffers calamity.
When you desire something and you don't, all the people who have the same thing you desire, becomes targets of your hostility. You pull them down and hate them.

Your attitude towards failure and delay may have a lot to with why your answers have not come.
God is the one who restores. God is the one who replenishes....
Sorrow should not change who your are, it should not make you who you are not. Let your focus be on the GOD WHO RESTORES....

Accused and ashamed, removed from your place of glory and honour.....LET GOD HAVE A GOOD REASON TO RESTORE YOU....LET YOUR ATTITUDE BE RIGHT. ...even if you are weak and miss it, still His mercy is available....Obtain His mercy for your past ignorance and step forward. Refuse to be defined by the failures and disappointment that life has thrown your way. He who restored Naomi after all hope was lost is able to reward you. Sis Bola.

WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Mark 16:9

Of all the people Jesus could have appeared to first after His resurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene. This is interesting, because among the Jews of His days, the testimony of a woman was not held in high regard.

In fact, some of the rabbis falsely taught that it was better for the words of the Law to be burned than to be delivered by a woman.

Yet Jesus chose a woman to be the first herald of His resurrection. It is also worth noting that women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb.

Mary had courage that many of the men did not have when Jesus was crucified. She stood by Him through it all.

In fact, the Bible tells us that after He was crucified, Mary "observed where He was laid" (Mark 15:47).

She watched as they took His crucified body from the cross and wrapped it and placed it in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. And while the guards were deciding to post a soldier by that tomb, she spent an entire night there all alone, before the guards were there .. . before the disciples were there.

And her love was rewarded. God said, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

God rewards the person who is diligent. And for those who will take time in their day to seek the Lord, for those who will take time to read His Word, for those who will take time to wait upon Him, He will reveal His truths to them.

Prayer: Lord, may I seek You with all my heart, and find You in all areas of my life.

Scriptural Reading: Mark 16:9-19

Prayer for new week

With every harvest comes an unusual restoration,You will experience total recovery of the things you thought were lost. Every dead vision, enterprise or project will receive life again in Jesus name. Every mountain standing in the way of your progress is coming down. This year, you are moving forward with supernatural speed in Jesus name.

Happy New Week from us ASB-World. 

 

GO TO SLEEP

David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 2 Samuel 12:16

You must learn to leave situations in God's hands when you cannot tell the outcome of an issue.

Sometimes you can get caught in situations where it appears as if you are in a no-win situation and no matter what happens, you will end up with a bad result.

In such cases, you must learn to release the situation to the Lord and rest in Him. King David dealt with such a situation when the prophet Nathan confronted him with the sin of adultery and the murder of his bodyguard — Uriah.

The judgment against David was that the consequence of his action would end in the death of the baby to be born out of the adulterous relationship.

David did not know what to do - no matter the outcome; it was going to be bad for him.

He prayed and fasted and just lay before the Lord.
He did not stand in prayer to claim any promise of God.

He just lay down in surrender, trusting the Lord to handle it in the best way possible.

Later when David heard that the baby was dead, he accepted the outcome and moved on with his life.

He trusted God with the outcome, and accepted the verdict without questioning God or getting bitter.

Like David, we must learn to accept God's judgment in every situation.
He is a loving and a righteous Father. All His ways are perfect. Even His judgments are inspired by His unfailing love.

Prayer: I thank You Father, that You are a righteous God. All Your ways are perfect. May You have Your way in me.

Scriptural Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1-23

FORGIVE YOUR ENEMIES

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Romans 12:14

We have all experienced situations in our lives when submitting to the will of God becomes very difficult for us.

For example, when someone has really mistreated or done something terrible against you, committing the situation to God for Him to deal with it His own way is very challenging.

Anytime you go into prayer about the situation, you are inclined to curse the person instead of praying for the person to change. This is so especially when the more you try to be nice to the person, the worse they become.

In such circumstances, we are commanded to forgive the person and pray for them. When you pray, you leave the issue in God's hands and trust Him to deal with it in the best way.

This kind of prayer is very difficult, and many times when we leave issues in the Lord's hands, we go back for them and handle them our own way.

In every instance of suffering, our Lord handed over both the situation and Himself to the Father's care. He did so because He was confident in the righteous judgment of the Father.

When He was reviled, He committed His ways to the Father. On the cross when He was suffering and dying, he still committed Himself to the Father. That is the way you should respond when confronted with unjust persecution on the job or in your families and relationships.

When you retaliate, you forfeit the blessing and reward that suffering is meant to bring. Retaliation shows your lack of confidence in God's ability to make things right in His own time.

Prayer: Father, I commit all my hurts to You; heal me. I ask for Your forgiveness for all those who have hurt me one way or the other.

Scriptural Reading: Romans 12:14-21

SPINACH & RICOTTA CHEESE PANCAKES

You would need,

250 grams Ricotta or Home Made Cottage Cheese
1/3 C Spring Onion (green leaves only)
½ C finely chopped Spinach Leaves (washed)
2 Eggs, separated
1 Green Chilies (finely chopped)
1/3 C Rice Flour

Salt to taste
¾ tsp Chili flakes (adjust according to heat)
Oil to cook pancakes read here

Drain any excess water from the ricotta by keeping the ricotta in a strainer lined with cheese cloth or muslin cloth. Transfer the drained cheese in a mixing bowl and whisk with a spatula until smooth. Add the spring onions, egg yolks, green chillies, rice flour, salt, chili flakes and spinach leaves and mix them in well.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Fold in half of the egg whites to the cheese mix and then add the rest of the egg whites.
Pour a teaspoon of oil on a hot griddle or non-stick pan and add 2-3 tablespoon of cheese batter. Spread it a little with the back of a spoon and cook till the bottom begins to turn brownish and then flip and cook the other side in a similar way. Remove from heat and serve with the tomato relish.
Note: The pancakes can be made ahead and reheated over the griddle pan.
Note: Be sure to use freshly made cottage cheese and not the store brought one sold in blocks.
Note: You can swap spinach with vegetable/s of your choice.
Yield: 8 (the size shown in pics)

Ginger is the perfect herb to grow indoors

Ginger is the perfect herb to grow indoors. It’s very low-maintenance, loves partial sunlight, and you can use parts of it at a time, leaving the rest in the soil to continue growing. Besides, it’s delicious! Really, what’s not to love about growing ginger inside?

A bit about ginger

Ginger takes 10 months to mature and it doesn’t tolerate frost. If you live in a place where it gets chilly in the winter, you’d be better off growing ginger in a pot indoors and bringing it outside in the summertime.

Ginger is one of those miraculous plants that grows well in partial to full shade, which makes it ideal for growing in your home, where most people don’t have full sun pouring on their windows all day long.

Little bits of the ginger root can be removed while it continues to grow. A little bit of ginger goes a long way, so these pieces can be used for cooking, brewing tea or for herbal remedies.

How to plant ginger

The best ginger to plant is purchased from a garden center or seed catalog. You’ll have much better luck if you get seed ginger that was meant to be planted. However, ginger can be hard to find from garden suppliers, especially locally.

Ginger purchased from the produce department of your local grocery store can be used to grow a plant, but with spotty results. Grocery store ginger is often sprayed with a growth inhibitor to keep it from sprouting before it’s purchased. That inhibitor also keeps it from sprouting when you stick it in a pot of soil.

Grocery store ginger also could be coated in pesticides and fungicides. The truth is, you have no idea what’s on it. I’ve heard of grocery store ginger growing just fine, and I’ve heard of it sitting in a pot forever and never budging. If you do purchase your ginger from the grocery store, be sure to soak it in water overnight to remove as much growth inhibitor as you can.

Whichever way you choose to go, here are some helpful tips for growing ginger inside:

The root that you choose to plant should be plump with tight skin, not shriveled and old. It should have several eye buds on it (bumps that look like potato eyes) and if they’re already a little green, all the better.

If your root has several eye buds, it can be cut and each bud can be placed in a separate pot to produce several plants.

Be sure to pick the perfect pot!

Unlike most other houseplants, ginger loves shallow, wide pots. The roots grow horizontally so be sure the pot you choose will accommodate its growth.

How to grow ginger indoors, step by step:

1. To start with, soak the ginger root overnight in warm water to get it ready for planting.

2. Fill your pot with very rich but well draining potting soil.

3. Stick the ginger root with the eye bud pointing up in the soil and cover it with 1-2 inches of soil. Water it well.

4. Place the ginger in a spot that stays reasonably warm and doesn’t get too much bright sunlight.

5. Keep the soil moist, using a spray bottle to mist it, or water it lightly.

6. Ginger is a slow grower, after a few weeks you should see some shoots popping up out of the soil. Continue to water the plant regularly by misting it with a spray bottle and keep it warm

Harvesting ginger:

Small pieces of ginger can be harvested 3-4 months after growth begins. Pull aside some of the soil at the edges of the pot to find some rhizomes beneath the surface. Cut the needed amount off a finger at the edge of the pot and then return the soil.

Ginger can be harvested in this way endlessly, and as long as it is well cared for, it will continue to produce roots. If you need a larger harvest, you can uproot the entire plant and re-plant a few rhizomes to start the process over again. By Meredith Skyer