Experiencing God's hand in your Life

Bible Verse: John 2:1-6

Many of us have previously gone through these verses in the Bible which talks about the miracle Jesus performed by turning water to wine. But one thing most people ignore is that the miracle didn't just happen. Somethings were set for the miracle to happen. Let's discuss what happened there and how we can apply it in our Life.

#1.  Personal Invitation

Reading verse 2, we see that Jesus was invited to the event. It wasn't by chance or luck. He didn't just come across the event. For us to experience the supernatural in our career, relationships, health, e.t.c we must first invite him into our life.

#2.  State the problem

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Experiencing Divine Financial Prosperity

     As a Christian, you are a partaker of Gods' divine nature. Part of his divine nature is financial prosperity. The word of God in Mathew 5:14 says:

"We are the light of the world. A city set upon the hill cannot be hid".

The bible saying we are the light of the world means we are pacesetters; all our endeavors are blessed including our finances.

     Most Christians ask God for other requests , but fail to commit their finances to God. They think God is incapable to transforming their finances. They are wrong. The bible in Daniel 3:19 says:

"And in all matter of wisdom and understanding, the king inquired and found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that where in his realm".

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Lack of hunger

Bible Verse: 1 Peter 2 vs 2

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."

Another crack in the wall that hinders Gods' blessing in our life is our lack of hunger. For us to experience his supernatural blessing in our-lives we have to be hungry for his blessing. The bible in the above verse talks about us desiring his word which in other words mean we must be hungry for him.

What kills our hunger? 

 When other things occupy your mind. When you are filled with other things you can't hunger for God. For example, people spend most of their time chasing their career, relationship, dreams e.t.c. that they forget about God. Most of them don't know that their effort cannot do it alone. The forget that they have a God who is mighty and able to save.

Hunger is something you have to do for yourself. Most people say they can't pray for an hour . It is because they haven't experienced a problem that is above them and that the only solution for them is for them to reach-out to their maker in prayer. The intolerance of your present creates your future. You will not grow until there is hunger. The reason most people don't go to church is due to their  lack hunger.

Over-exposure. Our over-exposure can also kill our hunger. Some of us think we know already that we take Gods' word for granted. We feel we already know too much. We must rekindle our interest by praying more and spending more time in studying the word of God which is the bible.

Ways to be hungry

Conscious decision. We need to consciously decide to work in Gods' principles. It's a conscious decision that we have to put in our mind and continuously remind ourselves of.

People. We must surround ourselves with people who continuously increases our faith in God. People who can encourage us when we are weak. The people we spend much of our time with plays a big role in our lives. They are a major factor in our life. We should surround ourselves with people that can positively influence our lives.
 

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Cracks in the wall

When there is a crack on a wall; insects, rodents enter into the wall. These creates more damage to the wall and brings the wall closer to its end.

Also in human life, when we leave cracks in our life, we give room for the devil to enter our life. Here are two cracks that can give room for the devil in our life.

No expectation.

For you to progress in life, you need to have expectations. Without it, life ceases meaning. As a christian, without expectation your prayer will be a mouth prayer not a mind prayer. Without expectation there is no future. The bible in Ephesians 3:20 says :

    "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

   You see the words "ask or think" in the verse which means that God expects us to have our expectations for him to grant us our request.

 Giving.

Any Christianity that doesn't touch your money isn't complete. We all need to learn how to give and not have the mind that the person we gave to will return back but that God will reward you. Although this is quite difficult, but as it is stated earlier, that should be our expectation. Our tithes are also important ways in which God uses to bless us.Our tithe is 10% of any increase or our income. The bible in Malachi 3:10 says:

     "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

This bible verse talks about us sealing the cracks in our life and see the way God is going to bless us.

    

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3 Tips For Dealing With Trials in Life

The story of David versus Goliath can teach us a lot about the trials in our own lives. David was going up against a behemoth of a man in Goliath and no doubt at times probably wondered if he had made the right decision.

In the same way, we all have “Goliaths” in our lives from time to time and its easy for us to get scared, to think to ourselves that there is no way we can handle this, and to run away.

The “Goliath” in your life could be a circumstance. Maybe you recently lost your job and there seems no way in this economy that you will ever be able to find a job again. Not only that, the bills are piling up and you wonder if you can ever pay them on time.

Maybe its a relationship in your life that is taking a lot out of you. Maybe its an addiction that has controlled most of your life, hurting yourself, others, and God. And you wish you could just break free from it once and for all.

So let me ask you, what is the goliath in your life?

Whatever it is know this…its something that stands in the way between where you are and where God wants you to be.

So what are some ways that you can handle the trials that seem so large and scary in your life?

Here are 3 tips:  

 Realize that you are not alone – understand that whatever you are going through is something that someone, somewhere is either going through now or has gone through before. That is one of the reasons fellowship is so critical in our walk with God. There are numerous support groups out there for Christians and you simply have to be willing and open to be vulnerable with others….these makes you strong NOT weak!

Learn to trust God on life’s road - sometimes God allows these Goliaths to come into our lives to test us, to help us grow and to rely on God for everything. Think about your past when you were going through a difficult time that seemed insurmountable, how did it turn out? Most times we find that we grew from those trials more than any other time in our life. Not only that, understand that the problems are never as big as they seem, even if they seem big to us they are small in compared to our God.  

Persevere! – In order to go through and face our Goliath’s in life we must persevere. How many times have you been through something where you persevered instead of giving up? Maybe it was for a week, for a month, for a year. But what happened in the end? You preserved just a little longer and then you were blessed. Learn to persevere through the toughest times.

I pray that this has helped you and I leave you now with a scripture that came to me while reading the story of David and Goliath.

“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

-1 Samuel 17:45




Source: Christian Inspirational

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What do we ask for?

Reading Verses: 1 Kings: 3:5-12

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.


I was having my bible study when I came across those verses. Not that I didn't know the story but it made me to ask myself a question. When we tender our request to God, what do we ask? The story above, in which some of us already know, is about God telling Solomon to ask him for whatever he wants. He wasn't selfish in is request and asked not for only what will benefit him but also his people and his request was granted.
When we pray, do we just ask for selfish requests? Do we bombard the gates of heaven with requests like; I need riches, I need money, I want a job, I want a spouse, I want a child. Probably that is the reason in which some of our prayers don't get answered. As good as those prayers might see, they are selfish. Why don't we pray like Hannah in the bible who asked not just for a son for herself but also one who will serve God. And as we start asking God for unselfish requests, we see changes in our lives.

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Mercy at work or grace at work

Although mercy and grace are terms used often among Christians, I’m sure many are unclear what the two words actually mean.  To help you understand the difference between the two, let’s first begin with mercy.

What is Mercy?

According to dictionary.com the term “mercy” can be defined as having a disposition of compassion or forbearance (to refrain from something).

Paul said: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:12-13; NIV).

From this scripture (including many others), we can gather that mercy is not getting what you do deserve.  It is an act of being spared from judgment.  When we hear, “thank you Lord for mercy” this is the same as saying, “thank you Lord for not giving me what I deserve, for withholding judgment and punishment from me.”

Example of God’s Mercy

An example of God’s mercy would be a 19 year old teenager who fell short from the glory of God.  They gave into peer pressure and decided to go to a club late Friday night where drugs and sex is highly promoted.

The next day, the teenager is convicted by the Holy Spirit and repents.  Because of God’s mercy, He forgives and spares them from punishment and judgment.

Mercy Summarized

With any sin or illegal act committed, punishment always follows.  However through Christ Jesus, we are given a second chance.  We are given mercy; thus, withholding punishment and judgment from us.

Is this an invitation to do whatever we want?  Of course not.  However, when we mess up and fall, God gives us mercy.  Not because we deserve it but because of His compassion towards us.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

What is Grace?

According to dictionary.com “grace” is defined as the manifestation of favor by a superior.  It can also be defined as the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.  In very few words, grace is getting what you do not deserve.

Example of God’s Grace

The grace of God is unearned; it’s freely given to you by God although you don’t deserve it.  An example of God’s grace is the gift of eternal life.

    For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The gift of eternal life is something you do not deserve, however it is freely given to you by God.  The scripture states that while we were still sinners, Christ died on the cross for you and I (Romans 5:8).  Was this something we deserved? No; but the grace of God saw past our sins and wicked ways.

Grace Summarized

When you hear a person say, “thank you Lord for grace” they are in essence saying, “thank you Lord for giving me what I do not deserve.”  Again, this isn’t an invitation to sin and do whatever you want.  God knows your heart so don’t take for granted the grace given to you.

Finial Words about Mercy and Grace

I encourage you to think of all the things you do not deserve but received (grace) and all the punishments you do deserved but did not receive (mercy).  When you think about these things, begin to thank God for giving you brand new mercy and grace.  Without it, you and I would be consumed by our wicked ways on our way to hell.

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5 Guidelines for Setting Smart Goals

Memory Verse: Habakkuk 2:2-3

“ Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

Write the Vision and Make it Plain

Simply saying, “I want to…” is not enough.  There’s something about writing your goals out oppose to having pleasant thoughts about them.  The bible says, “write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 2:2).

What are your goals?  What is it you want to do? What do you want to accomplish?  When do you want to accomplish it?  Write it out.  Here are 5 guidelines to help you make smart goals for yourself.

Set Specific Goals.

The more specific you are in writing your goals, the better.  Ask yourself these questions:   Who is involved?  What active part do I play in accomplishing my goal(s)?  Where is the location?  When am I starting and finishing this goal?  Why am I doing it?  How am I going to do it?  (Note: Your goals may not require answers to all six questions).  Here’s an example of setting a specific goal:  Instead of saying, “I want to spend time God”.  Say, “to spend time with God, I will set aside the first 30 minutes of my day to read and mediate on the word of God.”

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Treat Yourself The Way You Want Others To Treat You

Memory Verse: Matthew 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The bible verse above encourages us to do unto others as you would have done unto you.  In today’s society, this would be the same as saying: treat others the way you want to be treated.  As Christians, I believe we can refer to the life of Jesus as a guide on how we’re to treat others.

Jesus Life as a Guide on How to Treat Others

When Jesus began His ministry on earth, He didn’t come saying, “I am God, serve me and do as I say.”  When Christ came, one of the many things He showed His disciples (including you and I) was how we’re to treat others.  He forgave sins and past mistakes, showed mercy and grace to those who didn’t deserve it, prayed for and served others, helped the poor, healed the sick, reached out to sinners and so much more.

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3 Things to You Should Expect When Facing Life's Challenges

Whatever it is you are facing or need to face; whether that’s facing problems, obstacles, issues, weaknesses, decisions, a wilderness experience or etc, know that through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in you, you can face it.

Below are 3 things you can expect when facing life’s challenges.  I encourage you in advance to be encouraged and not intimidated by them.  Let it encourage you to confront the challenges you’re facing.

The enemy will try to put fear in you

When you make a decision to face something, one of the tactics of the devil is to embed fear in you.  Convincing you to believe you can’t do it and to think of all the things that will happen as a result of you confronting what needs to be faced.
Don’t give into the schemes of the devil.  We know that he comes to kill, steal and destroy and that God has NOT given you the spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind.  Overcome the spirit of fear with faith.

Expect people to change on you

When Jesus was here on earth, the same people who smiled in His face were the same people who turned on Him and yelled for him to be crucified.  Truth be told, when you are facing whatever it is you need to face, not every person will understand.  They may smile, talk behind your back and even reject you as they did with Jesus.

Although Jesus knew this to be so, He didn’t let facing rejection, mockery, suffering and rejection stop Him from going to the cross.  As the time became closer for Jesus to be crucified, He said to his disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead” (Luke 9:21)

As the time of crucifixion got even closer Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42).  As you see, Jesus didn’t want to face being crucified, but He did for you and I.  But while doing so, He had people, such as Judas, change and turn on him.

When you make a decision to face life’s challenges and confront the things you know needs to be faced, don’t be surprised when people begin changing on you as they did with Jesus.

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats” (1 Peter 3:14).

Expect God to work through you

The Bible never says that everything we face and go through will be good; however it does say that ALL things work out for our good.  When you confront the thing God has pricked in your heart to face, expect God to work through you; revealing His glory through you to others around you.

You may not see it right now, but once you confront this thing, at the end of it all you will realize that it was for your good that you needed to confront and face it.

You can face it

Know that when you face this particular thing in your life, you can expect the devil to bring more temptation your way.  Why?  Because you’re actually doing something to spiritually grow in Christ.

While you were wavering and unsure on whether or not to face this particular thing, the devil didn’t need to do too much; but now that you’re facing it, expect the devil to tempt you more…but greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.

I don’t know what you need to face, but the Lord used my Bishop yesterday to tell the church that we can face it and now I’m telling you that YOU can face it.  Don’t allow the devil to hold you back from spiritual growth in Christ because of your fear to face this particular thing.  Cancel fear with faith.  Don’t allow the devil to convince you into believing you can’t face it.

If God’s been nudging at your heart to face something, do it.  Don’t worry about “this or that”.  You may have to make some adjustments, but God will give you the strength and grace to face and confront it.

 

Final Words

Share with us how you passed through previous challenges. Leave it in the comment section below.

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Being above your challengers

Memory Verse: Daniel 1:20

And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 

Most times, we are caught up in the maze of our daily activities and forget to the most important thing. The work load of our jobs weigh us down that we don't have time for our selves. Even with all our crapped-out activities we still do not make significant progress in life. We haven't still gotten that contract we applied for, the job we are searching for, the promotion we applied for or the spouse we have applied all our efforts to get. We look at ourselves and find out that we are still far from where we want to be so we increase our efforts but still it comes to no avail.

All we need to do is to take a breather and reposition ourselves by committing more time in understanding the ways of God. God does not want us to pass through the stress we keep putting ourselves through that is why he placed everything within our reach. He just want us to commune with him in other to receive it. He will grant us our request if we can commune with him regularly even while carrying out our daily activities. And as we start developing our relationship with God, we will experience divine speed.

 Further bible verses: Psalm 33:16-21

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Confidence in His word

Memory Verse: Hebrews 10:35

Cast not away your confidence which great recompense of reward. 

Confidence can simply be defined as a feeling of trust in someone or something. Confidence is necessary in our everyday activities. As a doctor or surgeon you have to develop confidence in your medical skills, as a musician in your music skills, as a soccer player in your technique, as a man or woman in your relationship with your spouse.

As we develop confidence in carrying out our daily activities, we also need to develop confidence in God. We need to be confident that God is able to answer and meet our needs. Building confidence is not an easy task but as we consciously work on our selves by studying the word of God and trusting him more, our confidence in God increases. As it increases, we start seeing great changes in our lives because God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.

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Ways of Getting Your Heart Desire

Memory Verse: Proverbs 6:6

Go to the ant, O sluggard consider ways, and be wise.

Have you ever considered how ants live through all seasons and still thrive. How they plan during the sunny times and rest during the rain. Most times we live our life without any clear plan of what we want or desire. We do not have any clear goals and do not set set our priorities right. Most times we leave the important just to attend to the urgent. We procrastinate instead of acting and blame others for our problems instead of facing the source of most of our problems: "our selves".

We need to pay attention to what a close attention to what Jesus said. Leave the urgent to attend to the important. Be proactive. Start living effectively. For our lives to change, we need to change the ways we do things. We don't have to wait for other people to act before we start acting. We need to know we and we alone have the power to change our lives and transform our lives for better putting God first in all our activities and make sure our activities are in align with what God wants. And as you change your ways and start acting diligently, you will start seeing positive changes in your lives.

Your Turn

What's your on ways of getting your heart desire? Share it in the comment section below.

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Secret to Answered Prayers

Memory Verse: Luke 17:6

He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

Most times when we pray or ask God for something or we want him to change something in our life, we wait for a while; when we do not see answers to our requests, we start doubting ourselves and even doubt if there is a God. We ask ourselves this question: does God answer prayers? All we need is just little faith. The bible explains faith in Hebrews chapter 11. It defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen and further says it is impossible to please him without faith: for he that come to God must believe that he his a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The challenge with most of us is that when we forward our request to God, we do not even believe he his going to answer how request. We ask God doubting if he his going to answer how request. We need to know that God is willing and able to answer our requests. All he needs is for us to jut do a little task. Believe with the whole of our heart that he his able to answer our request. We need to log our request to God with a picture of we having the request in our hearts from the beginning. You might think and even say that it is not logical but remember that God uses the stupid things of the world to confront the wise. God gave is son for our redemption and loves us so much and is willing to answer your request.

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Guiding Your Heart

Memory Verse: Proverbs 4:23

Guide your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life.

The heart is arguably the most delicate organ in the body. It is the center of human life. Without it functioning properly, life ceases from the body. As important as taking care of the heart like having regular exercise, taking the right diet and resting well so is the information that enters our heart. What we listen to as a way of influencing our decisions, thus our lives.

We need to consciously decide what we choose to listen to, the kind of information that will enter our heart, the kind of words we hear from our friends. For instance, If I apply for a contract with good faith and I have friends who discourages me; saying that I will forfeit the contract do you know how that could change the way my heart will feel about the contract. Even if I refuse to put my mind, they have already sown seeds of doubt in my heart. Also listening to things from friends whose thought are negative can affect us. We need not to listen to all news because they have a way of separating us from our maker. God loves us and has great things installed for us. We need to guide our heart for his sake because he is the reason why we are alive.



 

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