I believe you are learning from these posts?
Lets get going in our learning today:
When a man goes into any business, he will, if
he wishes to make a success, learn all he can about it. Many Christians never
bother to learn the rules of life. Jesus took note of this when He said, “The
sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in their own
generation than are the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). He meant that in the issues
or matters of this world, men were apt to be more business-like and to exercise
more common sense and discretion than the children of God. Of course, in
matters that pertain to the world to come, the poorest Christian is
indefinitely wiser than the shrewdest man of the world.
Jesus pointed out that if a man builds a
tower, he should first figure out what it will cost to see if he has enough
money to finish the job. Christians should use good business sense in all their
affairs.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower,
does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it
– lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who
see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to
finish?’” (Luke 14:28-30).
Begin A
Regular Prayer Life
If a person is going to be a successful
Christian, he must utilize the means God has provided for that purpose. For
example, the first thing he should do is to begin a regular prayer life. This
cannot be emphasized too strongly. It is amazing the things that can be
accomplished in a lifetime by a man or woman who prays regularly. Prayer is the
means of getting things from God. Here, for example is a promise Jesus gave:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”
(Matthew 7:7-8).
Note the power of faith as declared by Jesus
in Mark 11:22-24:
“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have
faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be
removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but
believes that those things he says will be done, he
will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say
to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them,
and you will have them.”
Perhaps my most important advice to you is to
make prayer a daily habit. On a daily basis you should bring every important
matter of your life before the Lord – your daily activities, your finances,
your problems, your family, your work, your hopes, your career. If you are
faithful in doing this every day, you will find your life unfolding to the
pattern God intended for you. Remember this: God has a special blueprint for
every life. It is the best plan possible for that life. It may be you are
called to the ministry, to be a missionary or to be a trained worker in the
church. Or, you may be called to be in business or a stay-at-home wife and
mother. God’s will for you is perfect, but you must get into His will by
praying.
Many Christians apparently miss-out on God’s
best. Too often this is true in marriage. If a person does not pray earnestly,
he may marry the wrong partner. As a consequence, his whole life may be
adversely affected. There is no place for second guesses when you’re choosing a
life companion.
Establish a regular time of prayer as they did
in the Early Church (Acts 3:1). In this way you may save yourself from many
mistakes.
Also, one of the most important tasks any
Christian can do is to pray for others and their problems and needs. This is a
ministry of intercession. There is no higher calling than of an intercessor.
And this calling is open to all. It is open to you! If you would learn the
power of intercessory prayer, the answer is in Ezekiel 22:30-31. “So I sought
for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on
behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore
I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of
My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord
GOD.”
In other words, God is saying He looked for a
man to pray for the people that they might return back to God. Because He could
find no one to pray, He punished them and destroyed their land because of their
wickedness.
Read The
Bible Daily
To understand the Bible properly, you must
study it with the idea God is speaking to you through His Holy Word. Now you
know the Author of the Book – He is your heavenly Father – you will find great
encouragement and instruction from its pages.
It is true there are books of the Bible which
are more difficult to understand than others. The Bible is divided into two
sections – The Old Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament was
written before Christ Jesus was born into the earth. It tells of how God dealt
with man through the ages. It also foretells in many places of the birth and
death of Jesus Christ the Son of God, who would come to redeem man.
The New Testament was written after Christ
lived on earth, died and rose from the dead. The first four books of the New
Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are called the Gospels and give the
story of Christ and His mission on earth. Every Christian should begin with
these books. The next book, called the Acts of the Apostles, tells how after
Christ ascended into heaven, His disciples or followers carried on His work and
formed the beginning of the Church. Acts gives the blueprint for the Christian
Church today. Most of the remainder of the New Testament was written by the
Apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, to churches in various towns and
countries. His instructions are just as valuable to us today as they were to
the Christians of the Early Church.
Read the New Testament straight through,
chapter by chapter; do not skip around. The New Testament is your guide for
your Christian life.
After you have read the New Testament, you may
start with the Old Testament. In it you will read of men and women who served
God and others who did not, and how God dealt with them. Ask God to enlighten
the Scriptures to you, so you will learn the important lessons the Old
Testament teaches. However, the New Testament was written especially for us –
the true believers of the Church Age – so you will find great help there. It is
good for a Christian to read at least three chapters a day. Ask your pastor to
start a study group to explain the Scriptures. It will be a rich experience for
all. However, if you still have difficulty in knowing God’s will, ask the Holy
Spirit to guide you.
Be
Faithful In Giving To God
The Bible tells about Jacob; a man who had
some very unpleasant traits. His meanness grew worse until finally God came
into his life. One day, after he had gotten himself into serious trouble
through his cheating, he had to run away from home. That night God gave him a
vision of heaven. The vision changed his life, and right then he made a vow to
God that he would be faithful in giving a tithe (that is, a tenth) of all he
had earned to Him.
“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will
be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat
and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then
the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be
God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You”
(Genesis 28:20-22).
It is truly sad when some professing
Christians become so greedy they do not pay their tithes. God called them
thieves and robbers. They have not robbed man; they have robbed God. “Will a
man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed
You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed
Me, even this whole nation. ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts,
‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such
blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:8-10).
On the other hand, God has promised to pour
out a special blessing on those who are faithful stewards in their giving to
Him. Tithing is the returning to God one-tenth of all we earn or receive in
wages or goods. All we have has come from God. He asks us to offer to Him at
least one-tenth for His work.
The support of the Lord’s work should come
first. Each time you receive money or goods from your work or sales, God asks
that you first give Him at least one-tenth of it all.
Do not overlook the responsibility of
Christians toward world missions. All of us have a debt to those who do not
know Christ. Christ said, “Go into all the world and preach and publish openly
the good news (the Gospel) to every creature…” Perhaps God will call you as a
minister or missionary. If not, you have a responsibility to help make it
possible for someone else to take the message.
Enjoy your day,
and thanks for coming to learn here with me,
God bless!
Join me again tomorrow for the continuation
John Olanrewaju
Pastor, Author, Poet, Creativity, Business, Relationship, Career & Life Coach
Feel free to give your comment, suggestions and questions.
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