Knowing God and building better relationship with Him: Prov. 1:7, Prov. 4:7, James 1:5-8

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1. A NEW BEGINNING

2Cor. 5:7, Gal. 6:15, Col. 3:10, Lam 3:23, Rom 6:4, Luke 19:1-10.

"New beginnings" (Isaiah 43:18-19, Revelations 21:5, Philippians 3: 13-14 )

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2. GOD'S LOVE/ Obedience to God/Total submission to God/

1John 4:8, Jer. 31:3, 1John 3:1; 4:16, Rom. 5:8, Heb. 12:6, John 3:16

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3. "Work hard" (Proverbs 12 : 11)

"The value of hard work" (Proverbs 13 : 4)

"The foolish blame God for their mistakes" (Proverbs 19 : 3)

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4. GOD IS IN CONTROL

Mat.6:34, Psalm 23; 46:1, 1Pet 5:6-7, Rom. 8:28, Dan. 2:21, Prov.19:21, Isa.46:9-10.

THE POWER OF GOD

Ex. 15:6, 2Cor.9:8, Eph. 3:20, Dan. 4:37, John 10:28, Rom 16:25,

WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

Mat.19:26, Luke 1:37, Philippians 4:13, Mark 10:27

THE PROMISES OF GOD.

Joshua 21:45, 2Cor. 1:20, Isa.14:27, Rom.4:2, Heb. 10:23,36 2Pet. 3:9,13, Eph. 6:2.

REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR.

Eccl. 12:1, Prov.10:7, Deut. 8:18, Psm 119:55, Jonah 2:7.

OVERCOMING ALL FEAR

Joel 2:21, 2Kings 6:16, Acts 27:24, Isa. 41:10; 43:5, Acts 18:9-10, Mark 5:6, Luke 8:50, 2 Tim 1:7

Worshiping God in The beauty of Holiness (Psalm 29:2)

    Divinity reigns

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5. GODLY LEGACY

1Sam. 1:22, 2Tim1:5, 1Pet. 4:12-14, 2Tim.3:12, James 1:12

 TROUBLES OF OUR TIMES.

2Tim.3:1-5, Eph. 5:16, Esther 3: 5-11., 2Kings 6:25-30.

A WORLD OF MANY GODS

2Tim 3:5, Rom.16:17-18, Phil. 3:19, 2Cor. 2:17, Jude 11, Eze. 23:49

SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

Eph.6:12, Dan.10:11-17, 1Thes.2:16-21, 2 Kings 6:11-17.

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6. PREACHING CHRIST DAILY/Evangelism

Mat. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, 2Cor. 3:2-3, Phil 1:15-18, 1Cor.1:23, Acts17:3; 18:28

SEED SOWING.

Prov. 10:5; 20:4, Job 4:8, Gal.6:7-8, John 4:35-38, 1Cor. 3:5-9, Eccl. 11:6.

LIFE AFTER DEATH/Judgement

Heb.9:27; 13:14, Mat. 25:31-46, Luke 16: 22-23, Rev.21:4

EACH OTHERS KEEPER. /True Religion

Phil 2:4, Gal.6:2, Rom 12:10, 1Tim. 5:8, Prov. 19:17; 21:13, James 1:27, Psalm 35:10, Mat. 25:40

SUFFERING IN THIS LIFE- THE HOPE

Lk 9:23,62; 12:22-34, Col. 3:2, Heb. 12:1, 1Cor. 15:19, 2Cor 12:10, Mark 10:28-30.

THE ANGER OF GOD/Seriousness of Sin

Ex. 32:11; 34:6, Deut. 6:15, 2Sam.6:7, Job.21:17, Heb.10:31

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7. "With wisdom comes strength" (Proverbs 24 : 5)

"Listen to advice" (Proverbs 12 : 15)

"Listen and learn" (Proverbs 18 : 15)

"Keep good company" (Proverbs 13 : 20)

"Think before you speak!" (Proverbs 10 : 14 - KJV)

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8. Our hope in Christ

The power of God's word (Hebrews 4:12)

Christ, our salvation

Taking a stand for Christ

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9. Nothing to worry about (Rom. 14:23, Matt 6:25-34, Phil 4:6, Heb. 13:5-6)

Ask in prayer, wait in praise

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12. Thanksgiving.

1Cor. 10:13; 15:57, 2 Cor. 2:14, Phil. 3:20, 1Pet. 2:11, Rom. 8:37; 16:20, 1John 5:4

GODLINESS AND CONTENTMENT.

Mat. 6:25-26; 6:32-33, Phil. 4:12-13, Heb. 13:5, 1Tim. 6:6-11, Luke 12:15, Psalm 37:3-4, Prov. 16:8

"Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses."(NIV) Numbers 9:21-23

After the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites found themselves wandering through the desert for 40 years while they awaited the Promised Land. As we can see in the reading from Numbers, their travel plans were not given to them in advance. They had no idea if the place they were camped at would be their home for the next day or for the next year.

Thinking about my life, I believe that living this way would be hard for me and I suspect that it may be same for many others as well. As humans, we like to be in control of our own lives. We feel a sense of security when things are exactly the way we want it and when things don't go our way, it causes stress. The world we live in would tell us that, it is our right to have everything our way and we should stop at nothing to get things the way we want it. If we examine how God chose to interact with His people in the desert, however, we can say that He expects something much different from us.

Some may say that God was unfair to the Israelites in the desert by not sharing His plans with them but the truth is, He knew what was best for them and His will was to bring them to the Promised Land in His own time. This passage got me thinking about the Israelite's trust in God and I think it's admirable how they were willing to wait for God and also follow Him whenever it was in His will to stop or go. There is no doubt that some of the moves would have bothered some of the people and they would have been upset with either God's timing or choice of location or both but the scriptures say that the people followed God despite all of this.

Brothers and Sisters, how much do we trust God today? Do we get upset with Him when our hopes and dreams don't go exactly as we planned or do we look for opportunities to make the most of what we have been given? Do we grumble at God when we have been asking for something from Him and it has not yet been granted or do we trust that He knows what’s best for us and wait for Him to do things in His own time?

I don't think it was any accident that God took the Israelites to the desert for 40 years. In Egypt, the Israelites were under harsh treatment but on the brighter side, there was also fertile soil with the potential for lots of food and blessings from the land. The desert, by comparison, was a wasteland and they had to rely on God for manna each day (read Exodus 16 for more on this). By going to the desert, the Israelites had to learn to trust in God instead of in themselves or the Egyptians. They struggled with this often and I believe that we still struggle with this today as Christians.

Maybe you are at a point in your life that feels like a desert, where things aren't going your way and you don't have all that you want. As we strive to follow God in our lives we must learn to trust Him more, especially when things don't go our way. Proverbs 29:25 says "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." May God bless us as we seek to develop a greater trust in Him.

Letting go for the sake of Christ || More

Transformation through renewal of mind

Written by Nana Kwame Owusu-Afriyie

“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (NLT) Romans 12:2.

As the new year began in earnest, I sat down to reflect on my life. I didn't care so much about what I was able to do or not do in 2015. I did not formulate grandiose plans and resolutions for 2016. I just summarised how I want my life to be in 2016: “Growth and Persistence”. I just wanted to grow a notch higher in all the critical facets of my life: godliness, health, education, work and career, and relationship. I realise I didn't need any radical new plans or ideas for these areas of my life. I just needed a renewed sense of purpose to grow and be persistent in my growth in these areas. My challenge is not lack of ideas or plans; my challenge is to cultivate the right attitude; the winning mindset.

Attitude and mindset are closely knit. Attitude is everything! A bad attitude is like a flat tyre. Until you change it, you are going nowhere. We know these maxims pretty well. The veracity of these words doesn't get any better in these critical times. In my next devotional writing, we will glean some principles from Romans 12:2 so that “you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”

“²Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. ³The ox knows its manager, the donkey his owner’s manager, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. ⁵Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evil doers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.”

 Isaiah 1:2-4-NIV

It is so sad for even animals such as ox and donkeys to know and follow their master’s direction but some humans have failed to follow the Lord’s directions. How annoying will it be, for the creation to go against the Creator. When we are disrespected by our juniors or subordinates, how do we feel? If we, who are creations get aggrieved over another creation’s disrespect, how much more will the Creator?

Once upon a time, when man goes against God’s word, he or she is not given a chance to ask for forgiveness but immediately stroke dead. As time went on, this was changed so that man can seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ for God to forgive his/her transgressions. Because of this leniency, mankind has taken God for granted and perpetrating all forms of vices both in the dark and in broad day light. It is unfortunate that Christians have joined in, in disrespecting our God.

Once, I was discussing with a friend about the sins we commit as Christians in secret places. I told him if our secret sins are written boldly on our foreheads and only people looking at us can see, we will be amazed at what we will be seeing on fellow Christians foreheads. I will be no exception with so many sins that my small forehead will not be able to accommodate. In as much as this scenario is funny, it would be so embarrassing if it happens.

We are imperfect beings and we are prone to sin but must we live in sin as a sign of disrespect to our maker? Certainly not! We must aim at perfection just like Christ. Let us thrive to live sin free lives as a sign of reverence to our maker. Our God is severe in His punishment of those who disrespect Him through sinning and He is also rewarding in those who revere Him.

Dear reader who is not a Christian, today is the day to give your life to Christ and thrive to be perfect as He is. It is only in Him that we can revere the Creator. The time to seek and know Him is now. Contact the Daily Inspirer Team for directions on how to know the Lord we serve and then thrive to revere Him in all we do.

May God bless you.