The King's Court

TEXT: AMOS 7:7-17
Key verse: “But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court” (Amos 7:13).

The King’s court, ideally, should be insulated from error and deception. It should be the final and objective arbiter in the mortal fight between truth and falsehood. It should be the embodiment and symbol of authority against which no other law should stand. For, according to the Bible, “Where the word of a King is, there is power: and who may say unto him, what doest thou?” (Ecclessiastes 8:4). And Proverbs 30:31 describes the King as one, “against whom there is no rising up.” 

Unfortunately in the days of Amos the prophet in Bethel, North of the divided kingdom of Israel, Amaziah, a priest, influenced the king to reject the Word of God. Amaziah belonged to the tribe of spurious preachers who minister for filthy lucre. At a time when God had measured Israel with a plumb-line and declared that the land was morally misplaced and ripe for a harvest of divine retributions, Amaziah went against Amos, the prophet whom God used to relate the harsh but true predictions. Amaziah, a priest presiding over the worship of the golden calf set up by Jeroboam, tried to incite the king against Amos, maliciously charging him with treason. 

Amaziah sought to silence Amos and advised him not to preach in Bethel, where Jeroboam chose to site his ill-advised sanctuary in a bid to separate from Judah. His message was considered too harsh and unsuitable for a rebellious and impenitent society. For this ignoble role, Amaziah incurred the wrath of God and Amos pronounced terrible judgment on him and the land as a whole (verse 17).

Today, there is a conscious attempt induced by Satan to silence the ministers who preach the totality of God’s word. The doors of most churches are shut against them because the people cannot endure sound doctrine. The choice is, however, yours to make as to where to pitch your camp in this battle between truth and error. But remember that your decision carries eternal consequences.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Nothing can harm the truth.

THESE HIGH HEEL CUPCAKES ARE SO AMAZING

Do you love trying different cupcake decorations every time you do baking? If yes then here is a tutorial for you by which you can make some beautiful high heel cupcakes. see photos below:

In the very first step you have to bake cupcakes. Apply cream frosting to all the cupcakes. After that take sugar in small bowls and add food dyes to each sugar bowl in the colors of your choice. Also take some sugar beads in a bowl. Cover some of your cupcakes with colored sugar, some with beads and some with any other decorations available.

To make the arches cut some crackers in the shape as shown in the picture. Apply melted chocolate on their top. Embellish the edges with 

contrasting color chocolate and then dip in sugar. To make the heels you will require wafer or cookie sticks. Then cut a bit of portion from each cupcake

Poke in the arches and balance them with cookie sticks. Your high heel cupcakes are ready. Happy decorating!

Source:stylishboard.com

Jasper to stop Nigeria's oil leaks from oil pipelines

He is from Nigeria and has seen how leaks from oil pipelines pollute the coast. The diver and the engineer took his PhD at the University of Stavanger, Norway to help his country with a new invention, a leak detector .

Jasper Agbakwuru takes us down into the basement to Innova AS Lura, Sandnes. Here he tests out the prototype that he hopes will help Nigeria and other nations to stop leaks from a number of punctured oil pipeline. The invention may soon become interesting for Norwegian oil and gas industry.

It is a well known problem that the pipes that carry oil over land and under water in Nigeria are drilled and tapped for the valuable oil. Thieves does not clog the holes behind them. This leads to devastation and costs of the Nigerian nation.

Recently, the Agency reported that thieves walk away with 20 percent of Nigeria's oil production.

Put dive buddies die

Jasper Agbakwuru is an engineer and diver. In his homeland he has seen diving buddies die in the attempt to locate such oil leaks in the water along the coast that are turbid because of sand and clay. He has personally experienced how impossible it is to find a hole and describe the leak in a pipe when one can not see, and must feel his way to the hole with your fingers.

This was part of the motivation for applying to Norway and University of Stavanger. There he took his doctorate in May last year. Together with Professor Ove Tobias Gudmestad he has developed a leak detector, a tool to detect, inspect and repair leaks under water - for example olje_ and gas pipelines.

The invention will he tested out as an employee of Innova AS.

The way from PhD documents to a prototype of a leak detector was funded with support of Shell, which is one of the companies that produce oil off the coast of Nigeria and other parts of the business community in Oslo, the Norwegian Research Council and Prekubator TTO. Through Prekubator Jasper has also signed licensing agreements with underwater equipment company Innova.

Cases airspace around the camera eye

Down in the workshop of Innova he has a tank with pipes. In one of the tubes is a leak.With the naked eye it is impossible to see the clear water flows into the clear water.

Jasper Agbakwurus invention is a camera mounted on a clamp. When he squeezes it together around the pipe and blow air down through a tube, it is an air space between the camera and pipes. This enables the camera to send clear photos of the pipe and leak to a screen up on the hill.

The market is there

Eve magazine present the same day as Jasper Agbakwuru demonstrates leak detector for representatives of Oceaneering. Trond Jacobsen and Jan Ove Austrheim follow attentively when Jasper Agbakwuru says.

Technical Director Alf-Kristian Aadland in Innova says to Eve magazine that the company sees opportunities in innovative projects like this:

- I think it's exciting, and we see the potential in the market. Our role will be to develop the project further and find cooperation actors, says Aadland.

Culled from aftenbladet.no

Recipes: Pecan-Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Before assembling the sandwiches, let the ice cream stand at room temperature until softened, about 10 minutes. You will need about 2 2/3 cups ice cream.

Ingredients

    1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
    1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
    1/4 cup granulated sugar
    1 large egg
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 cup pecans, chopped into small pieces
    Ice cream, softened, for filling


Directions

    1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
    2: With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Mix in pecans. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into 16 balls (each about 2 level tablespoons and 1 1/2inches). Arrange on baking sheets, at least 3 inches apart.
    4: Bake until cookies are dark brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely.
    5: Scoop ice cream (about 1/3 cup) onto bottom of each of 8 cookies; top with remaining 8 cookies. Press gently to spread ice cream to edges. Wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.

 Source: shine.yahoo.com

YOU CAN'T HELP GOD

"The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Genesis 16:2

Have you ever felt that you were supposed to receive something from God but it just hasn't materialized?

You wait and wait until finally, you decide that maybe God wants you to help out the situation.

This is exactly what happened in the case of Abraham and Sarah.

God had promised them a son, but as years passed by, they were still without a child.

They took their eyes off the One who had made the promise and decided to take matters into their own hands.

So, Abraham lay with Sarah's maidservant, Hagar, and she bore a son, Ishmael (see Genesis 16).

The son of promise, Isaac, came later through Sarah, just like God had promised. However, as a result of this act of disobedience, the maidservant and her son became a torn in the flesh of Abraham and Sarah.

The way to avoid making "Ishmael" decisions is to seek God fully on the matter in prayer. It pays to wait on God until He tells you "go". Seeking the counsel of more experienced people can also save you from bad decisions.

It is also helpful to be in an accountable relationship with your spouse and other close associates who know you well. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"(Jere. 17:9).

Whenever we desire something passionately, we place ourselves in a dangerous position because we no longer look at the matter objectively.

We think 'the end justifies the means.' We become venerable to Satan's deceptions, and if we do not take care, we shipwreck our destiny.

Prayer: Ask the good Lord to shield you from mistakes that have potential to derail your destiny.

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 16:1-6

Do you Recognize God's still Small Voice? Then Read!

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. The thought kept going through my mind: “What if I died tonight? I’m not ready to go to heaven.” Since I could not shake the thought, I got up, went downstairs and waited for my parents to come home from their meeting. When they did, I announced that I wanted to get saved, and they took me straightway to the pastor’s home, where he explained the plan of salvation and led me in the sinner’s prayer. I was 15 years old when I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior.

It was God’s voice that was speaking to me that night, calling me into His kingdom. His voice came as a spontaneous thought inside my head. However, I didn’t define this as the primary way God’s voice is heard until I had completed a desperate, 10-year search to hear Him clearly.

Christianity is unique among religions, for it alone offers a personal relationship with the Creator beginning here and now, and lasting throughout eternity. Jesus declared, “This is eternal life, that they may know [God]” (John 17:3). Unfortunately, many in the church miss the great blessing of fellowship with our Lord because we have lost the ability to recognize His voice. Though John 10:27 promises us that Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice,” too many believers are starved for that intimate relationship that alone can satisfy the desire of their hearts.

I was one of those sheep who was unable to identify the voice of my Shepherd. I hungered for deeper spiritual intimacy with God, but I could not find it. Then on the 11th year of my Christian life, I had the spontaneous thought that I should take a year of my life and focus on learning to hear God’s voice. I decided to act on that thought and devote a year to focused effort, learning to hear His voice. Unbeknownst to me, it was the Lord calling me to invest that time.

That year the Lord revealed four simple keys, all found in Habakkuk 2:1-2, which unlocked the treasure of His voice. Using the four keys together allowed me to easily hear God’s voice on a daily basis. Don't worry about the order of the keys. Just make sure you are using all four keys. It was the most transforming step I have taken in the 45 years of my Christian life! I would like to share them with you so you can try them and see if they do the same for you.

Key No. 1: God’s voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.

Habakkuk knew the sound of God speaking to him (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner, audible voice, and God does speak that way at times. However, I have found that usually God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, or flowing thoughts.

For example, haven't you ever been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn’t you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God's voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?

Experience indicates that we perceive spirit-level communication as spontaneous thoughts, impressions and visions, and Scripture confirms this in many ways. For example, one definition of paga, a Hebrew word for intercession, is "a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting." When God lays people on our hearts, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought “accidentally” intersecting our minds. We consider it chance encounter in that we didn’t reason it up; however, it is purposeful because God sent it to us.

Therefore, when you want to hear God’s voice, you tune in to chance-encounter, spontaneous or flowing thoughts. Even Satan’s thoughts come to us as spontaneous thoughts, which is why we are commanded to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5). I am sure all of us have experienced spontaneous evil thoughts coming to us, even attacking us right in the middle of our prayer and worship times. So I conclude that analytical thoughts are mine, spontaneous good thoughts come from the Holy Spirit, and spontaneous evil thoughts come from evil spirits.

God’s thoughts line up with Scripture and with His various names: Comforter, Counselor, Teacher, Giver of Life, Healer and Deliverer. His thoughts edify, exhort and comfort. They are pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, and unwavering (James 3:17).

Satan’s thoughts line up with his various names: accuser, adversary, thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy. His thoughts bring jealousy and selfish ambition (James 3:14-15). They condemn and bring despair, rejection, fear, doubt, unbelief and, in general, misery.

Key No. 2: Become still so you can sense God’s flow of thoughts.

Habakkuk said, "I will stand on my guard post" (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that to hear God's quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 62:5 encourages us to silence our souls before God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense only our own thoughts.

Loving God through a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. (Note 2 Kings 3:15.) After I worship and become silent within, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come of things

Arise, Possess Thy Possession

TEXT: JUDGES 6:33-40

Key verse: “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him” (Judges 6:34).

If we win our internal battles, external aggressions can be easily contained. Our inner fortitude propels us to withstand the storms of life as they come and victory is thus almost certain.

Gideon had just cleansed up the obstacle to spiritual advancement in his father’s house and that of his small tribe - the Abiezrites. The altar of Baal had been pulled down. The initial rage of his tribesmen became abated as the external aggression of the vast number of the Midianites, the Amalekites and the Arabians became imminent. Gideon, the man on whom the “Spirit of the Lord came”, blew the trumpet to gather an army unto himself. The Abiezrites, having realised their folly, were the first to respond to the call. Others, from the tribes of Manasseh, Asher Zebulun and Naphtali, came with zeal too. The leader needlessly again asked from God a confirmation of his being chosen to root out the enemy. The Lord graciously acceded to his request even though it was done out of unbelief. We need to be cleansed inwardly through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in order to overcome the temptations and trials that confront us in life and faith in God’s ability to save to the uttermost (1 Corinthians 10:13).

A people, tribe or nation will be defended by the Lord only if it walks with the Lord. Those that forget God would incur His wrath (Psalm 9:17). When we are faced with problems that overwhelm us, we need to call upon God in prayer to strengthen our faith. Our faith should rest on God’s promises so that we are not frightened by intimidating circumstances. Unity and oneness of purpose are necessary ingredients to defeat the foe (Psalm 133:1-3). God’s blessings attend our endeavours in such situations. No matter the strength of the enemy, or the arsenal they unleash, if we are right with God, we shall win the battle.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The Promised Land is for the valiant in battle.