Control your tongue.

Every human being that came from Adam was born with a sick tongue, a tongue that connects a man to death and links him up with evil. Now in Christ, we are not only to be saved in our spirit; God wants our tongues to be saved, whole and healed so that we can access the tree of life right here on the earth.

Do you know that your words can keep or kill you?

In Matthew 12:37 Jesus says that by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Many people talks carelessly to their own destruction. If you are still struggling with the control of your tongue, then you are breeding on dangerous water. As a Christian, we must be careful that the devil is not using your mouth, that you are not known for idle words because you will be judged for very idle word you speak.

If you can only master your tongue, Bible says you will be a perfect man that can keep your whole life in check. Consider the following:

Slow down to speak. When you speak in haste you may not only be misunderstood, you leave out critical details.

Defer your comments. When you are in the heat of an argument, anger or other forms of negative emotions, things you say may not be well thought out and as a result, you may speak wrongly, so postpone your comments. 

No one ever arrested a man who didn’t speak. Sometimes, you just keep quiet so that you will not be quoted or wrongly quoted. The Bible says a foolish person when he keeps quiet is even thought to be wise.

Let your words be few. Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Don’t make a name for yourself as a talkative. Let your words be edifying.

Learn when silence is golden. Sometimes, the wisest of men keep quiet in significant places. Learn when silence is golden and use it there. You must know the time to speak and the time to keep quiet: Let wisdom instruct you. Not everyone that comes to you for counsel really needs it. Some people have concluded on their actions looking for someone to bear the responsibility.

Learn words that help you in life. Words like: “I am sorry,” “thank you,” “please” etc. When you use words like that, you will receive help early.

Know when to talk and when to keep silent. Know what to talk and what not to talk. Learn to live by self-control, and not by your impulses. Do not be control by your negative feelings but by proven principles from the word of God. Say the right thing, and right things will happen to you. That is the instructions of Mathew 12:37. Avoid careless talks, because it will result in a careless end. Keep your tongue from evil and you will live; open it wide in talking evil and you will endanger your life!

#beamthelight

There is danger when you put your mind on riches.

Part of the redemption of a believer through Christ is that Christ, though He was rich, but for our sake, he became poor so that we can be rich. Jesus promise material wealth to any Christian, but according to Mark 4:18-19, He warns us against the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things. The danger is that a selfish focus on prosperity could choke out whatever place the Word of God has in the believer’s life, destroying the strength of their testimony and hindering others from the true gospel.

Money and wealth are not the problem. It is the obsession with such “other things” that leads to trouble. Apostle Paul cautioned Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 that those that desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. The emphasis here is the mind that a Child of God need to keep pure and perfect because of the in dwelling Holy Spirit.

I have seen some uniqueness in many believers that God blessed immensely and many of them have been so faithful to God in their handling of their wealth. They never allowed their wealth to lord over them and their relationship with God. If by His grace the Lord enables you as a Christian to acquire or be in wealth, it should be regarded as a divine stewardship that you you use as an opportunity for ministry. Apostle Paul conveyed it clearly in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 as a command to those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Whatever riches a Christian may have here on Earth, notwithstanding, everlasting wealth in heaven is promised to those who faithfully apply what they do have in a humble spirit of biblical stewardship. Everything we possess, money, time, skills, even our reputation, has been committed to us in trust by God for His glory alone! We are according to Genesis 1:28, His stewards, appointed by the Creator to keep and manage all things committed to our care. And according to Mathew 25:14-30, He rightfully expects a good return when He comes back.

Jesus in Mark 12:41-44 sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Jesus was not impressed by the large sums of the rich because they gave “out of their abundance” and still had plenty left over; these gifts were not a sacrifice for them. Rather, Christ was so impressed by the widow’s sacrificial giving that He called His disciples over to point out this truth: God measures a gift not by its size but by the motive with which it is given and the amount left un-given. In God’s eyes, the widow gave all that she had; her whole livelihood.This widow would likely go hungry until she earned more. Therefore, this example portrays one of the greatest examples of sacrificial giving vis-à-vis wealth.

In conclusion, I need to emphasis that the just lives their life by faith. Proverb 3:5 admonishes all believers to trust in the LORD with all our heart, and not to lean on our own understanding. It’s needful to emphasis the fact that we must not confuse having faith in God with trusting in God. Faith is a noun. It is something you have or possess, according to Hebrew 11:1, a “substance” or “evidence” of things both hoped for and not seen. Faith in God is the confident belief that He is the sovereign Creator of all things and that He can and will do what He claims. Trust, on the other hand, is a verb. It is something you do or act upon. Faith always comes first, but trust is never guaranteed. It is a willful choice, a deliberate action, and can only grow out of your faith.

Both faith in God and trust in God can be greatly endangered by the desire to be rich!

The Word of God

When you pray without knowledge, you end up making emotionally oriented decisions. When your prayers are informed, your decisions become more result oriented. The scriptures tell you what is available in the store house of God in heaven. That is the key to answer prayer!

Jesus is The Lord.

http://bible.com/114/php.2.9-10.NKJV
The issue on the Lordship of Jesus Christ as The Lord is a decision of God in Heaven. There is nothing satan and his kingdom talkless of any human being can do about it. No one can take that position again. The earlier the better for you as a person to accept this reality. There is no other religion that have and will ever get a saviour as Jesus christ.

Foundational error of Christian leadership

This is the best explanation for the situation of things in our churches because our present day churches has lost the focus of purpose. All the immoral behaviors of our present world would not have gotten to the stage it is now, if the church is functioning as the light of the world as God designed it. God, the author and architect of the church made Jesus Christ the head. As the head, He came to the world to save and set examples of what is expected of the saved, called the church of God. Jesus Christ’s relationship with the church is of construction as reflects in His discussion with the Disciples in Mathew 16:18 saying; ‘..I will build my church…’  To build His church, Jesus set up hierarchy and administrations that will aid the building of His church so as to aid the church to accomplish the church He want to build. This mindset is often refer to as the Great Commission. Every leaders He appointed are co laborers that He uses to build as a living stone says 1 Peter 2:4-5. In the “Great Commission”, Jesus placed “discipleship” at the top of the list of things to do for the church. However, like many “To Do” lists, we have pushed what needs to be done today until a distant tomorrow that never really arrives, as our real priority slips further down on the list each day. Our present day church now lacks the power needed to transform lives. Mathew 28:19 emphasis Jesus specific instruction to go and make disciples. But before the church can do that the church must grow and mature in the Christian life and this is the work of the church leaders

Before we can get the church of Jesus back on course, there is a need to identify a major challenge that led to the present situation of the church which is a great error of Christian leadership.  A detail study of the scriptures is of great importance. Our Lord Jesus came to this earth and appointed disciples that He shown the practical examples of how and what to do as He built His church. The undermining strategy Jesus use is the appointment of leaders that He provided with vision to accomplish His purpose..  Ephesians 4:10-14 reveal the source and purpose of Christian leadership;

‘He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting’

Some key words above stand out clearly; He gave some(not all), for the equipping of the saints(born again sheep in the fold of that church), for the work of the ministry(disciple), till they become perfect and measure of the stature of fullness of Christ, so as not to be tossed to and fro by all winds of doctrine. It is therefore important to know that any church is dependent upon the right kind of leadership.

A detail study of this revealed that our present day church leadership has failed to equip the sheep in their fold on the specific areas Christ demanded. Teachings were to equip the church members as a disciple. However, many of the church members were ignorant of Christ demand from them. There is a great spiritual illiteracy in our churches as a result of error of focus by the Christian leaders, this has created serious weaknesses in Christian character. Church leaders were to “preach the word; be instant in season, out of season. reprove, rebuke. exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” says 2 Timothy 4:2. This is the ministry of any church leaders. The bible in Hosea 4:6 states, ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.’ Lack of knowledge leaves nowadays Christians with no sense of Biblical vision, mission, or strategy. They remain ignorant of the central purpose of discipline and service that brings Christ centered meaning and power into their lives. This has led to a dangerous trend of mixing up erroneous, un-biblical principles and conduct with biblical teachings. A shocking eye opener is found in Isaiah 5:20 which declare:

‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and, and sweet for bitter.

The basis of Christian Leadership is to serve people by pointing them to God. This is only possible by recognizing the purpose of the call to leadership. The emphasis is to focus on the central purpose of making disciples. An appropriate Christian leadership is to have as a goal and the willingness to preach the whole counsel of God according to Acts 20:26-27.
That is the ONLY way to impact and make a difference from the culture of this world. Christian leadership is to have only one purpose as a ministry;  to make a greater impact in a shorter period, with longer lasting effects, in the life of the children of God as a shepherd.  The Early Church leaders “ceased not to teach and preach,” (Acts 5:42) therefore they “filled Jerusalem with their doctrine.” (Acts 5:28) The Apostle Paul penned it beautifully when he wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2 tom Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to many witnesses.”
A good Christian leader must have, as a ministry focus, a goal of shepherding the sheep under him or her, to a point of decision, adequate for transformation, through the power of the Holy Spirit, till they become disciples who can pass their new-found faith along to their community. If our church leaders have been diligently pursuing this as their ministry, our world would not have been what it is now. A great church leadership error with damnable consequences!