PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Enoch walked with God. Genesis 5:24

The true test of a person's spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the daily grind of everyday life when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening.

In the 1600s, there was a monk named Brother Lawrence who was a dishwasher in his monastery. He made a profound discovery that is true for every believer in the workplace today.

"For me the time of activity does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling together, calling for as many different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as when upon my knees at the blessed Sacrament."

You see, he found no urgency for retreats, because in the common task, he met the same God to love and worship as he did in the stillness of his closet. It is this kind of life that Jesus desires for each one of us.

Enoch was also a man that practiced the presence of God. The Bible does not give a detailed account of his life. All we know about him is that "He walked with God."

In fact, it says in Genesis 5:22 that Enoch walked with God 300 years! Wow! That is faithfulness!

What does it mean to practice the presence of God daily? It means we are constantly talking to our Heavenly Father about the issues in our day.

It means praying about things as they come up. It means stopping at a red light and praying for the person God brings to mind. It means singing a song in your car while you are sitting in traffic. That is practicing the presence of God.

Prayer. Thank the Lord for His ever abiding presence.

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 5:18-24

Commitment Is One Of The Essential Need For A Happy Marriage

My dad used to say there are two kinds of married people: those who are committed, and those who
probably ought to be.

 He was kidding, of course. “Commitment” is sort of the definition of marriage or at least it used to be, before people began looking at their wedding vows the way college football coaches look at their contracts.
I recently heard a divorce attorney say on the radio that “no one goes into a marriage thinking it will end.” Maybe not but a lot of people go into marriage thinking it COULD end, if “things don’t work out.”

And therein lies the problem: If you start with the assumption that marriage is impermanent, it’s very likely to be.

Why do so many people start with that assumption? Because they look around and see that it’s so. Half the people they know are divorced including, in many cases, their own parents. So what’s the big deal?

I’ll leave you to decide if you think it’s a big deal. But let’s assume you do, since you’re reading this column. If you truly want to have a long and happy marriage, you must put out of your mind the idea that you can always walk away.

You can’t. That’s what “commitment” means.

A good friend of mine was once asked by his wife that immortal question, “Why do you love me?” He replied, “Because I choose to.”

At first, she wasn’t exactly thrilled with that answer. She wanted him to say something more romantic, about how beautiful and wonderful she is. But eventually she came to see that he was exactly right. Marriage is ultimately about choosing each other not just on the day you get engaged or the day you say your vows, but every single day for the rest of your lives.
Even days you don’t feel like it. Especially days you don’t feel like it.

Note that I used the word “love” in my anecdote about commitment. That’s because, when it comes to marriage, love and commitment are essentially the same thing.

The classic mistake young people (and sometimes older people) make when they first get married is assuming the feelings of strong affection and s*xual desire they have for each other on that day in other words, what we normally call “love” will remain unchanged throughout their lives.

People who have been married a long time, however, know that such feelings tend to ebb and flow and thus form a poor basis for a lasting marriage. They also understand that you’re more likely to still feel those emotions, years into the marriage, if you continue to choose each other even on days when you don’t feel them.

In other words, most people believe that commitment follows love. But one of the secrets to a long and happy marriage is understanding that, in reality, true love follows undying commitment.

WHERE DO YOU PLACE YOUR CONFIDENCE?

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:1-2

God always requires total trust in Him alone for our victories in life. Throughout scripture, we are cautioned not to place our trust in the strength of horses, other men or our own abilities.

David's decision to take a census was a failure to keep his trust totally upon the Lord. David's purpose in counting his population was to assess his military strength, much like the second census taken under Moses.

David found 800,000 men eligible for military service in Israel and 500,000 men in Judah, more than double the previous head count.

David's commander evidently recognized the grave error that his king was about to make. "But Joab replied, 'May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

This census displeased the Lord. David was falling into the temptation of trusting in the size of his army rather than in the Lord.

God punished David and reduced his forces by bringing a plague that killed 70,000 men.

How do we do this in our lives today? We trust the government, our connections, our bank accounts, our skills, and the security of our workplace.

When we begin placing our faith in these things instead of the provider of these things, we get into trouble with God.

What a lesson this is for each of us! We must look up only to God as the source of our provision. He is our Father, and our help comes from Him alone.

Prayer: Praise the Father, for being the unfailing source of all you will ever need.

Scriptural Reading: 1 Chronicles 21:1-10

A few lessons on ANGER

A few lessons on ANGER;
The more you grow up, the less you blow up;
The emptier the pot, the quicker it boils;
An angry man is seldom reasonable; a reasonable man is seldom angry;
Anger is one letter short of danger;
In a disagreement, the moment we feel anger, we have ceased striving for the truth, and begun striving for ourselves. 

ANGER ERODES RELATIONSHIPS!

Happy New Month of July Folks!!!

Happy new month My People may we encounter God's freshness everyday,
May Second half of the year bring us favour and blessing always.
Adenike Salako Blog's World wish you all the Best of the New Month :)

FOCUS ON JESUS

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face. Psalm 5:8

Have you ever tried to walk a perfectly straight line along a muddy path? It's not as easy as you might think.

When walking on a muddy path, most people tend to walk slowly with their heads focusing intensely at their feet. When someone attempts this task with their eyes cast downward, their footsteps become unsteady and crooked.

When you walk with your eyes constantly looking down at your feet, you have no idea where you're going. There's no perspective because you cannot see how you fit into the larger landscape.

There's no genuine focus, since every step treads over the last step's focal point. You haven't imagined yourself as part of a bigger picture. The only way to make a purposeful line of progress is to forget about your feet.

The key is to look straight ahead, set your focus on a fixed target ahead of you - a fence post, street sign, or tree off in the distance.

Then, with your eyes fixed on that target, just start walking.
When you lock your focus on a target ahead, the immediate problems become stepping stones towards your goal.

The same is true in our lives. If we walk through life concentrating only on what lies ahead of us, we will fail to see the bigger picture and allow little distractions to become major obstacles.

But when we look beyond ourselves and fix our thoughts and spiritual eyes on Jesus, we can trust that our paths will be straight and trustworthy, every step of the way. He is our big picture.

The ultimate goal of our lives. The final prize of all our endeavours.

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You at all times.

Scriptural Reading: Psalm 5:1-12

DECLARATIONS & PRAYER for new week:

You are walking through your open doors. You are taking possession of your inheritance. God will preserve, promote and perfect all that concerns you in Jesus name.

Whatever has held you back in the past will suddenly give way. Like David, you too will pursue, overtake and recover all in Jesus name.

No matter who you are or what the physicians have concluded at, your permanent healing will come as a shocker to all in Jesus name
You will not beg to feed, to train your children or run your home in Jesus name

 Life will favour you no matter how hopeless all seem
After all is done here [on earth], the wealth and all, you will not forfeit heaven!J

Happy New Week from us ASB-World.