I am a Friend of God

Who am i that you are mindful of me? That you hear me, when i call.

Is it true that you are truly thinking of me? How you love me, it's amazing.

A Question to Answer

This is a self reflection question, for all readers of this page.

You will need some imagination.

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Describe in detail one day of your life, when your life is at its perceived best.

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Start from when you wake up in the morning, detailing what you will do at each slot of time until you go back to sleep.

You may consider the following questions in assisting you with your answer.

--> What are 5 things in life that I've always wanted to do, but have not been able to, due to current limitations?

--> What will I do? Who will I speak to? Where will I go? What is my attitude, when life is at my perceived best?

Here we are talking about 'perceived best'. You will need to use perception and imagination.

1 Samuel 8

1 Samuel 8 (NIV)

¹ When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, "You are old, and (1) your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

⁶ But when they said, " (2) Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but (3) they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹ Now listen to them; (4) but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, " (5) This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle ^[b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. ²⁰ (6) Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.

^22a The LORD answered, " (7) Listen to them and give them a king."

You Weren't Expecting This

No i didn't think you were =] ! HAPPY!

The Very Powerful Balance

It's guessing time!

Guess: How many times does the word 'pastor' appear in the Bible?

(Picture of a pastor below - while you formulate your guess)

Answer: 1 time. (NIV) From Ephesians 4:11

I was certainly surprised to find that out.

Now guess: How many times do the following words appear in the Bible?:

'apostle', 'prophet', 'evangelist', 'teacher'

Answer: 89, 470, 3, 137 (NIV) in order.

Next question:

Why is it that the Church today places so much emphasis on having the pastor as the leader in the Church?

Why is it not emphasized instead that we have a balance of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers as leaders in the Church?

"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues." - 1 Cor 12:28

If the order of the appointment of leadership in the Church starts with apostles, then prophets, then teachers, etc... have we, as today's Church, adopted 'what we do' out of tradition, rather than the values from the Word of God?

*the pastor is probably the mentioned 'those able to help others' and 'those with gifts of administration', and 'workers of miracles'.

Materials of Flesh and of Spirit

Flesh
Those of the flesh become hungry for when there is a lack of 'fleshly materials'. The result of this is a would-do-anything-to-get-it desperation for the particular fleshly material, such as food, water, or tangible or intangible object or actionable item that results in sin.

Spirit
Those of the Spirit become hungry for when there is a lack of Spirit materials. The result of this is a would-do-anything-to-get-it desperation for the particular Spiritual material, such as the presence of God and the Word of God.

The more of the Spirit a person is the more he is hungry for the things of the Spirit, and must have a regular intake otherwise he will become hungry and desperate.

Important questions

1. When was the last time you were desperate for fleshly materials?
2. When was the last time you were desperate for Spiritual materials?

3. Has your Spiritual materials intake been increasing or decreasing in the last 2 years?


"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." - Romans 8:5

Million Dollar Deal

What value, of today's monetary equivalent, would you place on a single sinner coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ?

Given that the sinner knows the reality of both heaven and hell, what is the value, of today's monetary equivalent, that he is willing to pay, to go to heaven? (Assuming that the only way he knows to get into heaven is to by paying money, and does not know about how sinners are really saved.)

A very high value right? A very very very high high high value, right?

You, are the only hope, for some people in this world. God has chosen you.