LOVE

Treat everyone you meet with dignity.” (1 Peter 2:17 MSG)
Loving like Jesus means you must value others the way Jesus values you.You are a child of the king. God created you, and Christ gave his life for you. The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:19, “The ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ” (NLT). How much are you worth? Look at the cross. Jesus was willing to die for you. God was willing to give his Son for you. That’s how valuable you are.Jesus wants you to give that kind of value to everybody else — even the people you can’t stand. Christ says, “I love them this much (arms spread wide on the cross). So I expect you, my child, to love these people the same way I love them because I died for them, not just you. Treat them the same way I treat them. Value them the way I value them.”
The Bible says, “Treat everyone you meet with dignity” (1 Peter 2:17 MSG).How do you do that? One way you treat others with dignity is by looking at them, giving them your attention, and listening to them.One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Mark 10:21. Jesus was walking down the street, and a young entrepreneur came up to him and asked him a question. Jesus’ response was that he “looked at him and loved him” (NIV). He looked, and he loved. You can’t love without looking!When your waitress serves you or the grocery store cashier tries to speak with you and you don’t give them your attention, you’re not being very loving. Love looks, and love listens.Think of and even write down the name of someone you know who has low self esteem. Then, determine this week to show acceptance to that person and affirm his or her value to you and to God. When everybody else treats that person like an outcast or like she doesn’t matter, you can make her feel like she matters, because she does. She matters to God, so she should matter to you.

*******Have fun till we meet again*******

Nothing is useless!

…God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen…to bring to nothing the things that are.
1 Corinthians 1:27–28

God Uses What Man Deems Useless
There was once an old donkey that decided to go somewhere deserted to spend its last days. It found a suitable place, laid down and died after a few days. God looked down at the donkey and said, “I can’t use this donkey.”

Along came the vultures and foxes, picking off chunks of flesh from the donkey. It was a sorry sight. God looked down at the donkey and said, “I still can’t use this donkey.” Then, the ants and other critters of the wilderness came, and cleared up what the vultures and foxes had left behind. The donkey was now just a skeleton, but God still couldn’t use it.

Days and weeks passed, the burning sun scorching the bones of the donkey till they were totally dry and white. God looked down at what was left of the donkey and said, “Now I can use the donkey!”

Then along came Samson with his seven locks dancing in the wind. The man looked around for a weapon to wield against his enemies, and found…just an old dried up jawbone of a donkey. And with the seemingly useless and worthless jawbone, he slew a thousand men (Judges 15:11–17).

My friend, God uses what the world deems useless and past its shelf life to accomplish amazing feats. That’s just His style. So if people have written you off, called you “useless” or treated you as insignificant, get ready! God can and is about to use you to do the impossible. He’ll transform and empower you to do what you and your critics never dreamed possible!
As long as you are created by God you are useful!
*******Have fun till we meet again*******

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."Psalm 1:1–2

Run With God’s CounselIn today’s scripture, we see the psalmist describing the habits of a man that cause him to be blessed by the Lord. Notice how the blessed man “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”This means that the blessed man doesn’t depend on the advice of “experts” who are independent of and don’t honor God. Neither does he follow those who plot the downfall of others in order to prosper. And he doesn’t participate in cynical coffee shop talk! The man who does these things then is someone who doesn’t trust the Lord but fallible man and self. And he doesn’t meditate on God’s ways, but the ways of the world.Beloved, don’t choose this path. Choose instead to trust wholeheartedlyin Jesus by meditating day and night on His Word and His ways. And it will be a matter of time before you experience His blessings and success in all that you do!
Take this to heart because when meditate on God's word day and night, we soon begin to fulfil the desires of the Spirit and not of the flesh.
                                                                                               ******* Have fun till we meet again*******

Job’s Restoration Verse: Job 42

    Job’s spectacular turnaround isn’t just a reward for righteousness but also a joyous act of God’s generosity. The fact that God owes us nothing has never deterred him from giving us everything, freely and graciously (cf. 2Co 9:7). Notice that Job’s restoration comes only after he forgives his friends and prays for them. As Jesus says, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Lk 6:37–38).

Pastor and author Gordon MacDonald notes that in the first forty chapters of the book of Job, this man faced a sample of nearly every imaginable kind of suffering. On a few occasions he appeared to bend under the weight of the stress, but he never broke. Given every reason to doubt himself and to revise his view of God, he stayed the course.

Every person who desires to live generously will want to acquaint himself with the journey of Job. His is a message from ancient times of a man with a soul that was bigger than the circumstances. Satan certainly got his answer: Job feared God in comfortable times and in chaotic times. No contest!

As this amazing book concludes, a couple of points stand out as worth pondering. Notice that God never told Job why all this was happening to him … All of Job’s anguish finds its roots in a strange conversation in which Job’s character was impugned. One would like to hear God say to Job, “Now that this is all over, let me tell you what it was all about.” But Job was left, apparently, to live out his days continuing to trust in God…

More significantly, Job regained his prosperity … (see Job 42:10). What does this tell us? First, that prosperity is not always a coincidence nor merely the result of hard work. In this case at least, God showered prosperity upon a man because the man had demonstrated his faithfulness.

Second, the prosperity came not simply because Job had endured the suffering but because he prayed for his friends … Job had no reason to pray grace upon these “friends” of his. They’d done little more than add to his misery during his dark days. Still Job, through his prayer, wished for their best and prayed that God would act kindly toward them …

Two important lessons to keep in mind: First, everything we own may be attributed to Providence as much as to hard work; remember, there are others who work hard without gaining material prosperity. Second, we must never forget that a grace-filled heart does more to trigger God’s kindness than all the more visible things a person can do.

Think About It

•              How do you think this story would have ended had Job not prayed for his friends?

•              How is the story of Job tied not just to the topic of suffering but also to the idea of prosperity?

•              What life lessons can you take away from the story of Job?

Pray About It

Lord, Samuel reminds me that prayer is important when he says to the people, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you” (1Sa 12:23). Remind me, Lord, that my prayers on behalf of others are my duty as well as my privilege.

(This devotion is from the NIV Stewardship Study Bible by Zondervan. Used with permission.)

                                        *******Have fun till we meet again*******

NO TO WORRY!

                                  Philipians 4:6-"Do not be anxious about anything,  but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God"
        Sometimes it is so difficult not to be anxious about life situations and  circumstances but God  is saying we shoild not be anxious. Perfect love casteth away fear! God loves us and we need to love him in order for fear to be far from our hearts.
When you look unto Christ the author and finisher of our faith then we have no cause to worry because he has told us not to lean on our own understanding but to trust in the Lord (Proverbs3:5). A child that trusts in his/her father will run to him when she senses something is going wrong, the child will not continue to fret but will believe the father will be able to solve it. If we can depend on our earthly parents wholeheartedly then we should depend on our heavenly Father more because he created the earthly.
Look unto Christ at all times and believe his promise that we should prosper even as our soul prospers and it is written that every good  and perfect thing is from the Lord ( James1:17). Trust God that has good things planned for us and worry not .
                                                                                                    *******Have fun till we meet again*******

Your Life Is Shaped By Your Thoughts (by Rick Warren)

               Continue with me in this series and remain blessed as you read

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Romans 12:2a (NLT)

                  You cannot become all God created you to be until you understand the five factors that influence your identity. The first two are chemistry (how you are made) and connections (your relationships). You are a product of the way God created you and of the relationships in your life.

Your identity is also influenced by your circumstances and your consciousness.

Circumstances are the things that happen to you and around you — none of which you control. You are a product of the trauma, troubles, suffering, shame, shock, pressures, and pain that have shaped your life. Perhaps even abuse has affected your identity. If you’ve ever had a series of failures or a catastrophe, it has left an indelible mark on who you are.

Consciousness is how you talk to yourself. You know what? If you talked to your friends the way you talk to yourself, you probably wouldn’t be friends anymore, because our thoughts are filled with the lies we’ve heard from other people that we’ve let simmer and fester. When we repeat other people’s thoughts in our head, they go deeper and deeper in our consciousness, and they begin to shape our identity.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (LB). Your thoughts don’t have to be true to hurt you; you just have to believe them. If you tell yourself your marriage won’t last, then it won’t. If you’re afraid you can’t do something, then you won’t. Your thoughts run your life!

Your circumstances may be out of your control, but God is in control of everything. Your thoughts shape who you are, but you can change the way you think. Your circumstances and consciousness have shaped who you are, but the way you respond to your circumstances and the thoughts you choose to believe will shape the rest of your life.

Talk It Over

• What is your natural response to a difficult situation or circumstance? Do you run away or face it? Do you worry or trust God?
• How do you need to change the way you think?
• Who or what around you influences your thoughts in a negative way?      

How Well Do You Love? by Rick Warren

              “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) Yesterday we talked about the first of five factors that influence your identity. We have all been made wonderfully complex and full of flaws, but until we embrace who we are — including our flaws — we cannot make the changes in our lives that will bring about true transformation.
The second factor that influences your identity is your connections. Your connections give your life purpose, meaning, and identity. If you grew up with dysfunctional relationships, then you question your purpose and struggle with identity.Jesus said that the most important thing we should do is love God and love other people (Mark 12:30-31).
Life is not about your accomplishments or acquisitions, your popularity or prestige. It’s about how well you love.There are three problems that keep us from loving fully as God intended:
We’re all imperfect. 
There are no perfect relationships because there are no perfect people.
Sin disconnects us.
 Adam and Eve had the first broken relationship and disconnected themselves from God and from each other. We’ve been excusing ourselves and accusing the people we love ever since.The more disconnected we are, the more fearful we become. We crave intimacy, but we fear vulnerability. We crave acceptance, but we fear rejection.You may not have had a say in the hand you were dealt in life. But God sent his son as your Savior to transform your cards into a winning hand.
No matter what connections you’ve made in life, you will be held responsible for what you do with your connections today.Will you let God affect your connections? Will you trust him for your future in spite of a difficult past? Will you nurture, protect, and build relationships so that God is more fully glorified in your life?Resolve today to build healthy and not hurtful relationships with God’s help.

Talk It Over
In what relationships do you need to invest more time or more of Christ’s love?
How are you doing with “loving your neighbor as yourself”?
How about with your difficult relatives, co-workers, or in a broken relationship?

Please ponder on this writeup by Rick Warren.
                                                                                                     *******Have fun till next time*******