A WORD FOR TODAY: THE OLD MAN IN YOU "But now ye also put off all these; anger,wrath,malice,blasphemy,filthy communication out of your month,lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the 'OLD MAN' with his deeds" (colosians 3:8-9) Beloved your relationship wit God determines how life will be. Who is that old man,it means the character in you this morning,check urself the way you react to things are they right or wrong. One more thing,are u righteous. It is personal. Prayer Point: Father,every old deeds in my life,i send u out by fire in Jesus name (amin) . Gudmorning Sir/Ma
Friday, March 06, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Muslim woman Samantha Elauf (R), who was denied a
sales job at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa in 2008,
stands with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) lead attorney Barbara Seely (C)
at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, February
25, 2015. The Court on Wednesday considered whether
Elauf, who wears a head scarf, or hijab, was required
to specifically request a religious accommodation at her
job interview at the store in Tulsa in 2008 when she was
17. The company denied Elauf the job on the grounds
that wearing the scarf violated its "look policy" for
members of the sales staff.
If Wednesday's oral arguments are an indication,
Abercrombie & Fitch will likely lose in a Supreme
Court religious freedom case involving a Muslim job
applicant wearing a head scarf.
The case, EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch, has united a
wide range of groups concerned about the religious
freedom implications in the case. Christian, gay rights,
Jewish and Muslim groups have all filed "friend of
the court" briefs on the side of the Muslim job
applicant.
In a Wednesday interview with The Christian Post,
Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, who was at the oral arguments, said he was
optimistic that the court would rule against
Abercrombie & Fitch.
Samantha Elauf was 17 when she had a job interview
with the clothing store chain in 2008. The interview
was going well and the manager was ready to hire
her. After checking with a senior manager, however,
he told Elauf that he could not hire her because she
was wearing a head scarf, garb often worn by Muslim
women for religious purposes. Abercrombie has a
strict dress code for its employees, which includes no
head scarves and no black.
Abercrombie & Fitch does not deny that Elauf was
turned down for the job because of her head scarf.
Instead, the company's lawyers argued that Elauf
shouldn't be able to win a religious freedom complaint
because she never expressly stated that she was
wearing the head scarf for religious reasons.
Baxter said that one of the most telling exchanges
was between Justice Samuel Alito and the
Abercrombie & Fitch lawyer. Would a Sikh man
wearing a turban, a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke
or a Catholic nun wearing a habit have to expressly
state that they were wearing those garments for
religious reasons? Alito asked, according to Baxter.
The lawyer admitted they would not.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
“Father, forgive them. For they do not know what
they do” (Luke 23:34).
They were killing Jesus. They would run up and spit
on Him, then back off and laugh at Him and call
Him blasphemous names. They would quote His
words back to Him and dare Him to come down
from the cross and prove Himself.
They were mean-spirited and ugly and hatefilled, and
He loved them.
As they killed Him, He prayed for them.
That, my friends, is a pastor. A shepherd. A lover of
God’s people.
The heart of a pastor is a wonderful thing.
Something inside me wants to say preachers either
have hearts of a pastor or they do not. And if not,
they should turn down every invitation from search
committees to become pastors because it’s a perfect
set-up for disappointment on his part and disaster on
theirs. The preacher who can deliver a fine sermon
but who is unavailable and ineffective during the week
one-on-one should ask the Lord to show him other
ways to use his gifts and calling.
The pastorate is not for him.
On the other hand, I imagine a large segment of
pastors have dominant drawings to study and
preaching, and with a minor, if you will, in the actual
pastoral work. Even so, any minister of the Gospel
without a strong appreciation for the people of God
and his accountability to God for their care and
nurture is missing something essential in his makeup.
Case in point.
Hunter and have wife have been family friends for
many years. But from our frequent conversations
over the last few years, Hunter’s pastor seems to
have been AWOL the day Heaven handed out the
quota of “pastors’ hearts.” (That would be one per
person, presumably.)
For reasons unknown, he did not get his.
Hunter says his pastor insists he received a calling
from God and a love for God’s word. What he seems
to have missed out on, however, was a love for
God’s people with the accompanying desire to see
them prosper in Christ. (Please allow me not to give
specifics on this. Even though it may appear
otherwise, my purpose here is not to dump on this
brother. He is not on trial and I’m no prosecuting
attorney.)
I grieve about this because Hunter and his family
need a pastor now as much as ever in their lives. My
friend is in the grips of a terminal disease. We’re told
he has one year to live at best.
The hospital where my friend has been treated is some
miles away from their small town. But the pastor has
been mostly a no-show.
A close friend of mine has been calling on Hunter and
praying with him and his wife. Then, around 8 am
one morning this week, Hunter’s neighbor, an 84-
year-old pastor of another denomination, walked into
the hospital room. He ministered to my friend and
prayed with him the way pastors do.
Two hours later, I walked into Hunter’s room.
After an exhausting weekend of ministry, I drove 200
miles the night before in order to spend a few minutes
with my friends going through the darkest valley of
their lives.
It’s what pastors do.
It’s what people with “pastors’ hearts” do.
It’s that simple.
Ministers without pastors’ hearts–tell me if that’s not
an oxymoron!–look for excuses not to make these
trips. “I ran by but you were asleep.” “We prayed
for you in staff meeting.” “My car has been giving me
trouble.” “Those hospital rooms are so small and I
know you’ve had a lot of company.” “I’ve not been
feeling well lately.”
My buddy Hunter is being ministered to by three
brothers each with the heart of a pastor: my friend in
that city who has been calling on him in the hospital,
the next-door neighbor (the 84-year-old), and me.
(I baptized Hunter and his wife decades ago and we
have maintained our close friendship ever since.)
I gladly confess with a grateful heart that when the
Heavenly Father called me into this work at the age
of 21, He gave me a heart of a pastor.
The contrast with the compassionless pastor grieves
me a great deal. Were such a minister to ask for
advice–which is not going to happen–I would urge him
to pray the Lord who called him into His service
either to open up some other field of service more
appropriate to his gifts or to grant him the heart of a
pastor.
Question: What does a minister-with-a-pastor’s-
heart look like? How can he tell if he has one?
–Instead of looking for excuses not to be at the
hospital to minister to the family who needs him, he
looks for ways to make it happen. Rising at 4 am to
make a two-hour drive in order to arrive before
surgery? No problem.
–The distance is irrelevant. If necessary, he will
hitchhike to get there. He is determined to bless his
people in the name of Jesus.
–The minister with a pastor’s heart will not do a cost
analysis to determine if he should go. You know the
drill: “What benefit would come from my visit? and is
it worth the time and trouble?” Such reasoning is
insulting to the Holy Spirit who can take nothing and
make something, can turn a spoken word or a human
touch into something eternal and glorious. The
shepherd with a pastor’s heart is a true servant of the
Lord and is devoted to His people.
–A pastor’s heart will not allow the minister to “check
someone off his list” after he has made the visit. He
will continue to pray for them and check on them, by
phone or emails or personal calls. His caring is
genuine.
A child had been killed in a hit-and-run accident and
the family was beside themselves with grief. The
community overflowed the church to share the family’s
pain during the funeral. The young pastor told me
later, “That service was the hardest thing I have
ever done.”
I said, “All right. I have a question.”
“In the middle of that gut-wrenching experience,
when your heart is breaking and your soul is crying
out to God for help, did you have the feeling that I
would rather be here doing this than anyplace else on
earth?”
He looked surprised, as though I had found out his
secret.
“That is exactly how I felt.”
I said, “You, my friend, have a pastor’s heart.”
Now, keep your heart and guard it well.
Sin of any type will soil the heart. Rebellion will
deaden its sensitivy. And a refusal to confess and
forsake the sin will begin to encase the heart in a
protective callous. Before long, the minister who
showed such promise and blessed so many people now
has become a professional. From this time on, he/she
serves as a professional and not as a brother or sister
who truly cares.
You must not let that happen. The day you can
minister to a family that is burying a child and not
weep with them, you are becoming a professional.
The moment you can stand at a bedside of a dying
saint and not join with the family’s tears, you are
becoming a professional.
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
He was a shepherd, a Savior with a heart that hurt
for the hurting. “When He saw the multitudes, He
was moved with compassion for them, because they
were weary and scattered, like sheep without a
shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Thank God our Savior has a shepherd’s heart. “We
do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we
are…” (Hebrews 4:15).
I rejoice at having such a Pastor in Heaven. I so
want to be a shepherd like Him.
By Joe McKeever
On the other hand, I imagine a large segment of
pastors have dominant drawings to study and
preaching, and with a minor, if you will, in the actual
pastoral work. Even so, any minister of the Gospel
without a strong appreciation for the people of God
and his accountability to God for their care and
nurture is missing something essential in his makeup.
Case in point.
Hunter and have wife have been family friends for
many years. But from our frequent conversations
over the last few years, Hunter’s pastor seems to
have been AWOL the day Heaven handed out the
quota of “pastors’ hearts.” (That would be one per
person, presumably.)
For reasons unknown, he did not get his.
Hunter says his pastor insists he received a calling
from God and a love for God’s word. What he seems
to have missed out on, however, was a love for
God’s people with the accompanying desire to see
them prosper in Christ. (Please allow me not to give
specifics on this. Even though it may appear
otherwise, my purpose here is not to dump on this
brother. He is not on trial and I’m no prosecuting
attorney.)
I grieve about this because Hunter and his family
need a pastor now as much as ever in their lives. My
friend is in the grips of a terminal disease. We’re told
he has one year to live at best.
The hospital where my friend has been treated is some
miles away from their small town. But the pastor has
been mostly a no-show.
A close friend of mine has been calling on Hunter and
praying with him and his wife. Then, around 8 am
one morning this week, Hunter’s neighbor, an 84-
year-old pastor of another denomination, walked into
the hospital room. He ministered to my friend and
prayed with him the way pastors do.
Two hours later, I walked into Hunter’s room.
After an exhausting weekend of ministry, I drove 200
miles the night before in order to spend a few minutes
with my friends going through the darkest valley of
their lives.
It’s what pastors do.
It’s what people with “pastors’ hearts” do.
It’s that simple.
Ministers without pastors’ hearts–tell me if that’s not
an oxymoron!–look for excuses not to make these
trips. “I ran by but you were asleep.” “We prayed
for you in staff meeting.” “My car has been giving me
trouble.” “Those hospital rooms are so small and I
know you’ve had a lot of company.” “I’ve not been
feeling well lately.”
My buddy Hunter is being ministered to by three
brothers each with the heart of a pastor: my friend in
that city who has been calling on him in the hospital,
the next-door neighbor (the 84-year-old), and me.
(I baptized Hunter and his wife decades ago and we
have maintained our close friendship ever since.)
I gladly confess with a grateful heart that when the
Heavenly Father called me into this work at the age
of 21, He gave me a heart of a pastor.
The contrast with the compassionless pastor grieves
me a great deal. Were such a minister to ask for
advice–which is not going to happen–I would urge him
to pray the Lord who called him into His service
either to open up some other field of service more
appropriate to his gifts or to grant him the heart of a
pastor.
Question: What does a minister-with-a-pastor’s-
heart look like? How can he tell if he has one?
–Instead of looking for excuses not to be at the
hospital to minister to the family who needs him, he
looks for ways to make it happen. Rising at 4 am to
make a two-hour drive in order to arrive before
surgery? No problem.
–The distance is irrelevant. If necessary, he will
hitchhike to get there. He is determined to bless his
people in the name of Jesus.
–The minister with a pastor’s heart will not do a cost
analysis to determine if he should go. You know the
drill: “What benefit would come from my visit? and is
it worth the time and trouble?” Such reasoning is
insulting to the Holy Spirit who can take nothing and
make something, can turn a spoken word or a human
touch into something eternal and glorious. The
shepherd with a pastor’s heart is a true servant of the
Lord and is devoted to His people.
–A pastor’s heart will not allow the minister to “check
someone off his list” after he has made the visit. He
will continue to pray for them and check on them, by
phone or emails or personal calls. His caring is
genuine.
A child had been killed in a hit-and-run accident and
the family was beside themselves with grief. The
community overflowed the church to share the family’s
pain during the funeral. The young pastor told me
later, “That service was the hardest thing I have
ever done.”
I said, “All right. I have a question.”
“In the middle of that gut-wrenching experience,
when your heart is breaking and your soul is crying
out to God for help, did you have the feeling that I
would rather be here doing this than anyplace else on
earth?”
He looked surprised, as though I had found out his
secret.
“That is exactly how I felt.”
I said, “You, my friend, have a pastor’s heart.”
Now, keep your heart and guard it well.
Sin of any type will soil the heart. Rebellion will
deaden its sensitivy. And a refusal to confess and
forsake the sin will begin to encase the heart in a
protective callous. Before long, the minister who
showed such promise and blessed so many people now
has become a professional. From this time on, he/she
serves as a professional and not as a brother or sister
who truly cares.
You must not let that happen. The day you can
minister to a family that is burying a child and not
weep with them, you are becoming a professional.
The moment you can stand at a bedside of a dying
saint and not join with the family’s tears, you are
becoming a professional.
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
He was a shepherd, a Savior with a heart that hurt
for the hurting. “When He saw the multitudes, He
was moved with compassion for them, because they
were weary and scattered, like sheep without a
shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Thank God our Savior has a shepherd’s heart. “We
do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we
are…” (Hebrews 4:15).
I rejoice at having such a Pastor in Heaven. I so
want to be a shepherd like Him.
By Joe McKeeverMonday, February 23, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
.
After salvation, the most important choice you will need to make is who to marry. This choice is so important that if you miss it, you will suffer for long, if you get it right then you will enjoy forever. A bad marriage can affect every other area of your life. This subject is so important, so many married people are hoping to be single again so as to make the right choice. If you are single please don't just be in a hurry to get married, you have the best opportunity to prepare for it.
For two people to come together to live in peace and harmony, they must agree spiritually, mentally and physically. Just like an elephant cannot marry an ant so also a believer cannot marry an unbeliever. If an elephant marries an ant how would they live, if a goat marries a fish where would they meet? You must look for a Godly man or a Godly woman to marry, nothing can beat this. The devil's primary target is the family. He knows that everyone belongs to a family and if he can make two wrong people meet then he has succeeded affecting the community and nations negatively. Ignore your age and the pressure for a moment, the pressure in a wrong marriage is far worse. God has somebody for you but you must set your priorities right. What do you need in a woman? What do you need in a man? Marriage is not about what you want, it is about who you need, that will make you better while you make him better. It is about destiny. That is why you must know your purpose before you get married. Genesis 2:18. You must pray before you choose. God knows the best person for you, it is only wise to seek His will. It is very easy to know God's will when sex is not involved. The moment sex is involved and you want to know His will then He will blank you out.Why? Because you have broken His first Law of NO SEX before marriage. If you have had sex in the past then you need to repent totally and stay away from each other for sometime then you can seek the face of God. Your marriage will not be hell on earth. Your
marriage will be honorable in the name of Jesus Christ. Don't marry for sex, don't marry because you are of age, don't marry because you are getting old, don't marry because you are lonely, don't marry because you need someone to support you financially, don't marry because you mistakenly got pregnant, don't marry because you don't want to lose the person, don't marry because of family pressures, don't marry because you like the idea of marriage and admire every wedding gown you see, don't marry because all your friends are getting married. But get married because you want to fulfill destiny. Get married because you want to be a help mate. As a man, get married because you want to fulfill your purpose. God will help you in choosing, please let His will be done in your Life. Amen!
Forward to the singles you love.
Shalom
Evening, Feb 20
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
— Matthew 4:1
A holy character does not avert temptation—Jesus was tempted. When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ’s case, it was like striking sparks on water; yet the enemy continued his evil work. Now, if the devil goes on striking when there is no result, how much more will he do it when he knows what inflammable stuff our hearts are made of. Though you become greatly sanctified by the Holy Ghost, expect that the great dog of hell will bark at you still. In the haunts of men we expect to be tempted, but even seclusion will not guard us from the same trial. Jesus Christ was led away from human society into the wilderness, and was tempted of the devil. Solitude has its charms and its benefits, and may be useful in checking the lust of the eye and the pride of life; but the devil will follow us into the most lovely retreats. Do not suppose that it is only the worldly-minded who have dreadful thoughts and blasphemous temptations, for even spiritual-minded persons endure the same; and in the holiest position we may suffer the darkest temptation. The utmost consecration of spirit will not insure you against Satanic temptation. Christ was consecrated through and through. It was his meat and drink to do the will of him that sent him: and yet he was tempted! Your hearts may glow with a seraphic flame of love to Jesus, and yet the devil will try to bring you down to Laodicean lukewarmness. If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.
Sent from Morning & Evening app for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=yuku.morneve.app&referrer=utm_source%3Dself-share%26utm_medium%3Dyuku.morneve.app-market
Even though her village was seized by the Islamic
State and she's now living a rough life in an
unfinished mall in Kurdish-protected Northern Iraq,
a displaced Christian refugee child is asking God to
"forgive" the ISIS militants.
After ISIS seized most of the Mosul region of Iraq
last June, over 400 mostly Christian displaced Iraqi
families from the villages of Qaraqosh, Bartella and
Kharamles descended upon the Kurdish capital of
Erbil to live in a half-built mall in the in the
Christian neighborhood of Ainkawa.
As the families had picked up and fled their villages in
a hurry before the ISIS militants reached their
towns, the families could only afford to bring bare
necessities and are now living in the mall without
much more than the mattresses, blankets and other
handouts they receive from humanitarian
organizations.
A correspondent with the Arabic Christian television
network SAT-7 's "Kids" program interviewed
children living in the Ainkawa Mall's refugee camp
and asked them what they missed the most about their
lives back home.
In talking with the reporter and camera crew, a little
girl named Myriam, from Qaraqosh, assured that
although her life has changed drastically in the last
year and her family's future remains uncertain, God
continues to provide for her and her family.
"We used to have a house and were entertained,
where as here we are not," Myriam said. "But thank
God. God provides for us."
The reporter was a bit perplexed by Myriam's
comment and asked what she meant by "God provides
for us."
"God loves us and wouldn't let ISIS kill us," she
explained.
(PHOTO: REUTERSR/AZAD LASHKARI)
Displaced Iraqi Christian children who fled from
Islamic State militants in Mosul, gather around a
Christmas tree at a mall still under construction, used as
a refugee camp in Erbil, December 24, 2014.
The reporter followed up by asking Myriam what she
would do if she ever had the opportunity to retaliate
for ISIS' onslaught of her hometown.
"I won't do anything to them," Myriam asserted. "I
will only ask God to forgive them."
After the interview, the reporter thanked Myriam for
her time. Then, Miriam replied, thanking him for his
sympathy.
"You felt for me," she said. "I had some feelings and
I wanted people to know how I feel."
Two other girls from Qaraqosh were also
interviewed. They were asked what they missed the
most about their lives before ISIS took over the
region.
"Our school and our church," Flourine responded.
Maryouma added that, although they miss their
church, "Jesus will be with us no matter where we
go."
The reporter subsequently asked, "Is Jesus with you
in this camp?"
"Yes," Fluorine asserted. "In our hearts."
The video concludes by showing the refugee children
outside the entrance of the mall singing: "My love for
my glorious Savior will increase with each new day.
A new life, a happy day, the day I reunite with the
Lord."
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