The night on which He was betrayed started as the night in which He reclined at the table with them in a festive mood for the last time. He ate with them with His eyes on the future. Salvation at last has come to mortals; for those who shall believe, provision of eternal redemption was about to be made. Hence he said, this is my body… this is my blood….

Amazingly, they left the table with a wrong perspective. The concern of some of them was who shall be the chiefest. Let it not be so among you”, he said in response.

How things should be henceforth is found in the garden called Gethsemane. He struggled with the flesh as He stood close to the implementation of the way out for sinners who have been all their lives subjected to vanity. Their salvation would require that flesh should be put under. His humility was not yet complete, not until the cross.

“Not my will”, He said, “but yours be done”

This is the weekend to reflect on our pursuits and ambitions to align them with His; time to use the willingness of the spirit to subdue the weakness and the vulnerabilities of the flesh; time to say not my will but yours be done.

We can dream bigger dreams and have our eyes on the world as the constituency of our service,; but it must be in tune with His will.

God bless you

IAT™

In a church marketing newsletter just a few years ago, a campaign was suggested to attract people to church during the season of Easter. In this public relations campaign, it was suggested the cross be removed from the altar. According to the author, a survey has revealed the cross is one of those symbols the new generation of churchgoers considered too churchy. One pastor interviewed for the campaign gave his wholehearted endorsement. “We are going to attempt to concentrate on the resurrection, and not the death of Jesus.”

Easter without the cross. Is it possible to have resurrection without crucifixion? No. It distorts the entire gospel if crucifixion is separated from resurrection. The road to the empty tomb will forever pass by a cross. The One who is raised from the dead is none other than the crucified Christ. Easter without a cross is a hoax

“Gideon crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit” – Judges 8:4 NKJV

Are you thinking of quitting? You believed you could make a difference until they poured criticism and cold water on you. At that point you decided it was easier to adjust your expectations to their opinion and just keep smiling. Don’t do it; God has too much invested in you! The comfort zone is for those who are exempt from pain but denied progress; protected from failure but held in the grip of mediocrity. Get up and get out of there while you still can: ‘… Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die… ‘ (Revelation 3:2 NKJV). Open your Bible and begin to fill your mind with God’s promises; they’re powerful motivators. Pray, believing God for great things. Plug in at church. Rekindle your desire, for ultimately that’s what determines your destiny! Jesus suffered the loss of His disciples, His friends, and even His clothes (John 19:23-24). But they couldn’t rob Him of ‘… the joy that was set before him… ‘ (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV). Even while He was dying He continued to minister. Then He went into hell, came out with the lock and keys and announced, ‘I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore… ‘ (Revelation 1:18 NKJV). And He is your example!

When Gideon fought the Midianites we read that he ‘… came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit’. Because Gideon refused to let the Jordan River intimidate him, or fatigue stop him, God gave him a great victory! And He will do the same for you.

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Communication is an interesting matter. We all see and hear through a filter that has been shaped by our life events and how we have processed them. Our filters often like to hear “yes,” and we can even tolerate “wait,” as long as that wait is short-term. But we aren’t fond of the word “no” from God. In fact, when we hear “no,” we tend to believe it is the enemy blocking us, and so we muster our faith to rebuke the resistance.

In reality, it may be the “wind” of the Holy Spirit—that metaphor so often used to describe God’s presence and working in our lives—that is causing the resistance. I read a commentary on Acts 16 that described this passage like part of St. Patrick’s benediction that says, “May the wind be always at your back.”

This was true for Paul’s second missionary journey as they started to nurture the believers: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers” (Acts 16:5, NIV). In two instances, God says “no” to Paul regarding the direction he and his band of missionaries are about to take.

As we know, the wind can blow in some unexpected directions, as it did for this group. Though we don’t know the method God used to speak “no,” it was clear that they had been “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (v. 6). Then again, when they tried to enter Bithynia, “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So …’ (vv. 7-8).

The wind was blowing against them in some manner, but they seemed to understand the “no” of God was simply a redirection. Notice the word “so” in Acts 16:8. It was their response to God’s “no.” They knew the change of the wind wasn’t intended to cause them to stop moving, nor was it for them to press into the wind and go against it.

Paul and his team had also come to discern the difference between being tossed to and fro by the wind rather than being led by it.

“How does God guide his church to the right place for mission? There will be ‘closed’ as well as ‘open doors.’ There will be guidance addressed to individuals as well as to the entire team. There will be guidance via circumstances, sometimes extraordinary, as well as through the use of reason in evaluating circumstances in the light of God’s Word. And specific guidance will come only to those who are already on the road, living out their general obedience to the Great Commission. Being able to say, ‘God sent me; I come with the wind at my back,’ is a strong witness to one’s hearers that one’s message is from God and true” (IVP New Testament Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press).

Do you feel as if a strong wind is blowing against you? Listen for God’s “no,” and see if He isn’t redirecting you. There may be people waiting for you in your “Macedonia” (see Acts 16:9-15).

By: Tammy Dunahoo, Foursquare Vice President and General Supervisor

“The heart of her husband safely trusts her” – Proverbs 31:11 NKJV

The poet wrote, ‘Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love, till you give it away.’ We can be rejected by many, as long as we can come home and be loved by one. At times life will beat you down, so make your home a sanctuary. Here’s a story to help you do that.
He’d finally decided to ask his employer for a pay rise. Before leaving for work he told his wife about it. All day long she felt apprehensive. Finally, late in the afternoon he summoned the courage to approach his boss. To his delight he got the pay rise. Elated, he arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china and lighted candles. Smelling the aroma of a specially prepared meal, he guessed that somebody from the office had called his wife and tipped her off. Finding her in the kitchen he shared the good news. They embraced before sitting down to a wonderful meal. Next to his plate he found a note that read, ‘Congratulations! I knew you’d get the pay rise. This dinner is to show how much I love you.’ Later, on his way to the kitchen to help his wife serve dessert, he noticed a second card that had fallen from her pocket. Picking it up off the floor he read, ‘Don’t worry about not getting the pay rise. You deserve it anyway. This dinner is to show you how much I love you.’ Acceptance! Love! She stood behind him no matter what – softening the blows, healing the wounds, believing in him. So the word for you today is – support your spouse!

A newspaper carried the story of a woman who fell asleep behind the wheel and plunged her car through a safety rail on the motorway. It dangled precariously, 60 feet in the air. Motorists stopped, grabbed ropes, tied them to the back of the woman’s car and hung on till the emergency units arrived. A ladder was extended from below to help stabilise the car while fire-fighters chained the vehicle to tow trucks. Every time her car moved she screamed. It took over two hours for passers-by, the motorway patrol, tow-truck drivers and fire-fighters – about 25 people in all – to pull her to safety. The fire captain at the scene said later, ‘It was funny. She kept shouting, “I’ll do it myself!”” Are you like that? If you want to enjoy God’s best, reach for others!

Put aside procrastination and excuses for doing nothing at all.
There is a famous compound interest story about the Emperor of China who offered the inventor of the game of chess one wish. The inventor replied that he wanted one grain of rice on square one of the chessboard, two grains on the second square, four on the third and so on through square sixty-four. The unsuspecting emperor agreed to the seemingly humble request. Yet, two raised to the sixty-fourth power is eighteen million trillion grains of rice, more than all the rice in China! Do you think your actions might only be a tiny drop in your bucket? Have you ever placed a bucket under a dripping tap overnight?

Become God’s Friend (4)

“I have called you friends” – John 15:15 NKJV

Another step in developing your friendship with God is choosing to be honest with Him! God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to be honest. If perfection was a requirement not one of us would qualify. In the Bible, God’s friends were honest about their feelings – sometimes even complaining and arguing with Him – yet He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, He encouraged it. God listened patiently to David’s accusations of unfairness, betrayal and abandonment. He didn’t zap Jeremiah for claiming God had tricked him. Job was allowed to vent his bitterness and God actually defended him for being honest. On the other hand, He rebuked Job’s friends for faking it: ‘… “You haven’t been honest either with me or about me – not the way my friend Job has… My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer”‘ (Job 42:7 TM). To be God’s friend you must share your true feelings with Him, not what you think you ought to feel or say. Until you understand that God uses everything for good in our lives, you’ll harbour resentment towards Him over your looks, your nationality, your economic background, your unanswered prayers, your past hurts, and the things you’d change if you were God. Actually, revealing your feelings and releasing your resentments to Him are the first steps to becoming spiritually whole. Isn’t it encouraging to know that God’s closest friends felt just like we do, but instead of masking their feelings in pious clichés they voiced them openly? Why? Because expressing them leads to healing and a deeper level of intimacy with Him.

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Become God’s Friend

“I have called you friends” – John 15:15 NKJV

Friendship with God is maintained and strengthened through continual meditation. It’s impossible to be God’s friend apart from knowing what He says. You can’t love God unless you know Him, and that’s only possible through the Bible. ‘… He revealed himself to Samuel through his word’ (1 Samuel 3:21 NIV). Now you can’t spend all day studying the Bible, but you can think about it throughout the day, recalling verses you’ve read, mulling over them in your mind. Meditation isn’t some mysterious ritual, it’s simply focused thinking – a skill anybody can learn. When you think about a problem over and over, that’s called worry. When you think about God’s Word over and over, that’s called meditation. If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. Just switch your attention from the problem to the solution! The more you meditate on God’s Word the less you’ll have to worry about. The more time you spend meditating on the Scriptures the more you’ll understand their secrets. The Psalmist said, ‘The Friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant’ (Psalm 25:14 ESV). After Jesus told His disciples, ‘… “I have called you friends”… ‘, He went on to say, ‘… “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you”‘ (John 15:16 NKJV). The benefits of friendship with God include abundant living and answered prayer. So if you want to become God’s friend, read, digest and meditate in His Word.

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A Better Tomorrow

“To bestow beauty instead of ashes” – Isaiah 61:3 NIV.

The Chinese have an interesting symbol for the word ‘crisis’; it indicates both danger and opportunity. When the stakes are high and the outcome in doubt, purpose can emerge from pain like beauty from ashes. But real healing can’t begin until you face the facts and express your pain. That means doing what David did: taking it to God. ‘How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?… ‘ (Psalm 13:2 NIV). Just as lancing a boil is a necessary first step to healing, facing the truth is the first step towards becoming whole. Those who grow through a crisis learn which hopes, dreams and expectations were violated by the event. They identify where the repair work is needed, then they develop a road map for the future. At first you will feel as if ‘nothing will ever be the same again’. That’s normal. You may have to make adjustments in how you work, where you spend your leisure time, and how you relate to your family and friends. It’s the nature of a crisis to destabilise your world. But it also forces you to reach deep within yourself and find hidden strength you didn’t know existed. You may not feel courageous or hopeful right now, but that doesn’t mean those things aren’t there waiting to be tapped. Even though you don’t feel strong today, you can draw strength from the One who is. ‘The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God… in Whom I will trust… ‘ (Psalm 18:2 AMP). Face it. Find God in it. Follow Him, and He will give you a better tomorrow.

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