His Fiery Judgment

TEXT: 2 CHRONICLES 21:12-20

Key verse: “Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods” (2 Chronicles 21:14).

Billy Graham told a story of how he was arrested on a traffic offence and charged to court. According to him, he pleaded guilty and the judge, who was though friendly, was embarrassed that Graham could commit such an offence. As he could not pervert the course of justice, because that would have been inconsistent with impartiality, the judge concluded that Graham must pay the penalty of the offence. While reflecting this from the scriptural perspective, Graham pointed out that inasmuch as God is a God of love, He is equally a God of justice, otherwise everything about Him would not be meaningful.

According to our text, Elijah, the prophet of God, equally revealed a God of justice, as He brought a damning judgement upon Jehoram, the wicked king. The charges against Jehoram were many: he departed from the good ways of God, which he was taught; he conformed to the ways of the house of Ahab; he set up and enforced idolatry in the land; he murdered his brethren because they were better than him; and unlike Ahab, when the threat of judgment came, he slighted the warning.

Bad men bring God’s judgment to people around them. This was what happened to Judah, as Jehoram’s sins brought calamities upon them. His wives, children, substance and the entire land of Judah suffered the consequences of his actions. Jehoram suffered the same fate; he was afflicted with a violent inflammation of the bowels until the bowels fell out.

On this wicked king, God brought His judgment. Jehoram, visibly cursed of God, was hated while he lived and neglected when he died.

The end of a sinful life is dreadful in this world; and a neglect of God’s warning will lead to an even more dreadful eternity in hell.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: It is dangerous and damning to fall into the hands of the living God.

HAVE A HUMBLE HEART

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5

The eyes of LORD" is a theme running throughout Scripture. Take, for example, the familiar words of 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him."

Obviously, God doesn't have physical eyes; God is spirit. He doesn't need physical eyes, because He's also omniscient. Nothing escapes His notice. He's aware of all things.

But though He's aware of everything, He's also searching for something in particular, something that acts like a magnet to capture His attention and invite His active involvement.

God is decisively drawn to humility. The person who is humble is the one who draws God's attention, and in this sense, drawing His attention means also attracting His grace   His unmerited kindness.

Think about that: There's something you can do to attract more of God's gracious, undeserved, supernatural strength and assistance!

What a promise! Contrary to popular and false belief, it's not "those who help themselves" whom God helps; it's those who humble themselves.

This is the promise of humility. God is personally and providentially supportive of the humble. And the grace He extends to the humble is indescribably rich.

As Jonathan Edwards wrote, "The pleasures of humility are really the most refined, inward, and exquisite delights in the world."

We want to position ourselves to receive and experience those exquisite pleasures.

Why don't you make it your goal to pursue the virtue of humility and therefore attract God's attention and favour?

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for Your grace to be humble.

Scriptural Reading: 1 Peter 5:5-11

INSPIRATIONAL WORD: IT'S TIME TO PUT OUR IDEAS INTO ACTION!

There are two kinds of failures: those who think and never act, and those who act and never think.
Don’t be either. Great achievers think and act. Put your ideas into action! Take the first step, and then the next… Do something today! Be bold. Be strong. Step forward. Jehovah Almighty is with you. He will magnify your small steps into GIANT LEAPS!!

God's Heart-Felt Joy

TEXT: LUKE 15:1-10

Key verse: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

There was this story of a man, who had no legs, but found joy to glorify God. The narrator said: “While walking along a busy street one day, I heard someone singing. His sweet voice was distinguishable even above the noise of the traffic. When I located him, I noticed that he had no legs and was pushing himself through the crowd in a wheelchair. Catching up with him, I said, ‘I want you to know, friend, that to hear wondrous songs from a person in your condition gives everyone else a lift.’ He answered with a grateful smile, ‘When I thought about what I had lost and began concentrating on all I had left, I found much for which I could rejoice.’

This is exactly the joy in heaven for a sinner, who has repented of his or her sin. From our text, Jesus Christ promptly responded to the bigoted but ignorant religious leaders, who thought He was doing wrong by coming close to sinners. Rather, He made it clear that what was paramount in the heart of God and in the kingdom of heaven is that sinners repent.

For a single sinner who repents in a corner here on earth, his or her neighbours and friends may not be aware of his decision, but the whole of the kingdom of heaven is rejoicing that this sinner has repented. Those friends, neighbours, relations, spouses, classmates or business associates who later begin to see the manifestation of repentance in the former sinner may disdain him for his new decision. They may persecute or rail at the new convert, but heaven is already rejoicing over him.

Religion without conversion is therefore worthless and empty. It is an exercise in futility. Heaven is sad that majority of people are on the path of perdition. Do you want to gladden the heart of God? Do you want heaven to rejoice over you? Repent therefore and be converted. Do not care about what people do or say to you.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Seek to cultivate things that will bring joy to God.

DELICIOUS AND STUNNING KIT KAT CAKES

If you love baking cakes for your friends and family but don’t get much time to decorate them by following long processes then one great solution can be decorating them with kit kat. Kit kats not only set well with the taste of many cakes but give them a neat look too in no time. The options to top the cakes after covering their sides with kit kat can be smarties, chocolate truffles, candies or anything that you find tempting. Like this idea? See more photos below and Enjoy!!! souce: stylishboard.com & maxcdn.thewhoot.com.au

YOU ARE BLESSED

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

To be a child of God is to be a blessed person. When we make Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, we enter into a covenant relationship of blessing with God.

This is blessing we receive as a result of our relationship and not as a reward for our efforts. In Christ Jesus, we inherit divine blessing through grace.

• Our blessing covers all things: God has made provision for everything we will ever need and has prepared resources for these needs in advance.

For every challenge that will ever face us in life, the Lord has provision ready and waiting.

• Our blessing is spiritual:

God's provision for us starts as a spiritual reality which we must believe for and pray into manifestation in the natural realm at the appropriate time.

• Our blessing is in heavenly places:

God's provision for us is based on His resources in heaven. He is not limited by our earthly limitations and so we can trust Him for supply even when our earthly circumstances appears hopeless.

• Our blessing is in Christ:

God's provision is available because of what Christ accomplished through the sacrifice of His life on the cross and His ongoing ministry as our High Priest at the right hand of the Father.

It is only in Him that we are able to fully lay hold on all the benefits the Father has made available to us.

Prayer: I thank You Heavenly Father, for all the many blessings You have prepared in advance for me this day.

Scriptural Reading: Ephesians 1:1-14

How to Have a successful Marriage

A soul-mate marriage does not at all mean that you have found someone you match up with on all the

cards – on all the issues, on everything. That would be the most deadly dull thing to even imagine. Instead, it means you've found someone and they don't ever want to blow out that little light inside you. And you feel the same way about them.

Growing up, seeing my Dad and Mum play the happy couple, holding hands, stealing kisses, made marriage look so easy and beautiful. Hummmm for where?
Don't get it twisted, I saw them argue and quarrel as if they couldn't stand each other, but the next minute, they were back to their normal routine of holding hands and stealing kisses, even till my father passed at 97.
Parents shouldn't really worry that children never listen to them, they should worry that they are always watching them. I always had my reservations about 'happily ever after' especially after 3 failed marriages. I always wondered how two strangers can be together for 40 yrs, and guess what, I just woke up to discover that I have been with the same woman, the same smell, the same routine for the past 36 yrs, damn! Someone form another background, home training, different ideology, IQ, so many things different, if not all.
When you are not yet married, people give you reasons why you should get married, as if one could just go to the shop and pick a spouse off the shelf. Even if that was the case, how do you know what you are buying until you take it home? They tell you everything good about marriage and how interesting it can be, but they never promote the down side. “Just marry the right person” is what they always say but ‘right’ itself is relative. Who is the right person? Dem never born dem joor. In my village they will always say, if one waits to marry someone like themselves, they probably will wait forever.
Sometimes I think my wife is too good for me and some other times I feel I should have done better.

Get it straight, marriage is no fairy tale. Marriage isn't supposed to make you happy - and satisfied. It's your job to make your marriage happy - and satisfying. Same goes for sex. It isn't supposed to make you passionate and "hot". It's up to you to make it passionate and "hot" - and intimate. I see people getting married every weekend and I wonder if they know what they are getting into. So many are consumed by just wanting to get the title, some by the ceremony, others think it’s a safe haven. As usual most of us don't want to do the job, we want it so easy. Hmmmmmmmm, see gobe!

The first time I got married, I guess my head was filled with assumptions of what marriage should be like; of-course I was immature and an armature. However, it wasn’t what I had assumed and so it failed. The others too didn’t work out because maybe I wasn’t psychologically and mentally prepared for the mess, crap and bullshit in marriage.
I’ve been married to my wife Lady Diane for years and the seeming success of our marriage maybe as a result of my experience from my other broken marriages. Let's tell it as it is, marriage is somewhat putting up with a lot of crap and bullshit, and we must have a strong stomach for that. The word 'marry' is fusing two imperfect things together; so how is it possible that two imperfect things are merged? I guess it just means two people willing to be in a mess together, constantly finding a way out.
When asked my secret of love, being married for over 36-years to the same person, I say, "Diane and I are happily incompatible and I have learnt to live with that. She is an extrovert and believe it or not, am an introvert regardless of how I put out as Charles.

The most important marriage skill is listening to your partner in a way that they can't possibly doubt that you love them. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. It was when I released that love was forbearance that I had a successful marriage. Both parties have to know and have that. You bear and you keep bearing and you keep bearing. To be a bearer you must be a forgiver, sometimes no apologies rendered. Oooops! Yeah, that’s marriage.
Rice can never be beans and beans can never be rice, if you like cook them in the same pot they will always be different. They’ll still perform their different functions, what you will get is a different taste from the mixture. That’s marriage, what you get is not as a result of only you anymore but a mixture of two. You've got to take it as it comes. What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with each other's incompatibility.
Marriage is usually a disaster when so many things take the partners by surprise, when things don’t turn out as assumed. The good always comes with the bad, so it is with everything in life, marriage inclusive. Any fool can have a trophy spouse. It takes a real man to have a trophy marriage. I bet that getting married is a way to show family and friends that you have a successful personal life. It's like the ultimate merit badge. My late father stayed married to my mum for 60-something years. Looking at my stubborn mother, he must have been willing to stomach a lot of crap, but am also aware that my mum swallowed lotta bullshit too. 

Lastly have Jesus in your home, Jesus is a good director to every successful marriage.

By Charcles