Today Reminder - 31 July 2013 (Idols)

A reminder for today

In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. (2 Kings 10:28)

The Lord anointed Jehu as the new king of Israel and he set out to destroy the descendants of King Ahab and also Jezebel. After that he called all the baal worshippers together and destroyed all of them. 

We can so easily slip into idolatry especially when it comes to possessions. People like to be admired for what they own or how they look so we buy expensive clothes and expensive cars so that we can impress the outside world. Unfortunately we cannot buy a ticket to heaven and so all our possessions will not help us to get a better seat when the end is here. So many will be ignorant in this regard and that is why they say that the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing. With lots of possessions people are blinded and they do not see the grace of God and their hearts are lost to the kingdom. Many times these will be church going people but they are so misguided by self-idolizing that they miss the true kingdom of God and a real relationship with Jesus. They become plastic people or rather picture people. The picture looks great but the inside is corrupted. 

My dear friend, we must be so careful not to slip into idolizing or self-idolizing. It is important that we destroy the idols in our lives so that we can focus our hearts completely on Jesus and our goal to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Life is way too short to spend all your time to impress people with possessions when we can use all that energy and spend it with Jesus. My challenge remains and that is to live like Jesus did. Every day remains a challenge but walking with Him will bring us closer to our goal. Come with me today as we remove any and all idols from our lives and replace them with Jesus so that we can live a life dedicated to Him. 

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6)

Have and awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 30 July 2013 (Detour)

A reminder for today

Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years." (2 Kings 8:1)

King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. Elisha knew that this was going to happen and so he send the woman of Shunem away to a place where she will be ok.

We are sometimes taken on a detour on our journey in life. Sometimes we need to gain experience for what lies ahead and sometimes God just wants us to be in a better place when things go wrong. Sometimes we may have made the wrong choice and we end up on the wrong path, but even then I think God uses our bad choices to bring us closer to Him. We often find ourselves at a cross road and we are not sure where to go.

My dear friend, God has a plan and even in our worst moments His plan will fall in place. We need to seek Him in every moment and we need to journey closer to Him. God made the army of Aram think they heard the sounds of horses and chariots coming and they thought that a huge army was on the way, so they fled their camp leaving everything so that the people in the city could have food to eat.

No matter where you are on your journey God will give you the correct directions. Come with me today and let us journey with God as we seek His guidance and His direction. Let us walk the path even if we are on a detour and let it bring us closer to Him as we keep our eyes on Jesus.

Have and awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 29 July 2013 (Open your eyes)

A reminder for today

"Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!" Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:16-17)

This is such an awesome scripture. God gave Elisha all the places where the King of Aram wanted to attack Israel and Elisha warned the king of Israel so that they were prepared each time. The king of Aram thought he had a traitor is his army but they told him that is was Elisha the man of God that knew their plans. So the King of Aram send an army to capture Elisha.

My dear friend, when Elisha’s servant looked out of the window he saw all these armed men waiting for them and he was afraid. He did not realise that God is greater than any army and that he will protect them. Only when Elisha asked God to open his eyes did he saw the army of God.

Sometimes we need our eyes to be opened to that we can see that God is at work and we should not be afraid or interfere. We often find ourselves overwhelmed by our own circumstances and we like to blow things up from our perspective and so we often end up stuck in our own misconceptions.  My prayer is that our eyes will be open today so that we can see God’s army around us and hear his voice as he tells us where to go and where not to go. Just as Elisha knew where the Arameans was going to attack, God can also warn us ahead of time, and when we are in trouble His army will be ready to assist us. Come my friend and restore and renew your faith in God for with God all things are possible.

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." (Matthew 17:20)

Have and awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 26 July 2013 (Grab it)

A reminder for today

"Where did it fall?" the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the axe head floated to the surface. "Grab it," Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it. (2 Kings 6:6-7)

This is such a cool miracle. A group of prophets wanted to build a new meeting place for them and Elisha near the Jordan River. As they were cutting down trees an axe head of one of them fell into the water. This was a borrowed axe and the prophet who lost it was very worried. Elisha threw a stick on the water where the axe fell in and it floated to the surface.

I must admit I do not like to borrow things from people. I would rather try and get along without it or try and find another way. Sometimes we just have to borrow and when we make use of someone else’s possessions we try to be extra careful. When something happens to their stuff we feel so terrible and we would go out of our way to repair it or replace it. It is ironic in the sense that it remains a material thing yet we feel terrible about it. 

Sometimes in life we seem to lose faith and we do not fully trust God to help us. It is almost as if we borrowed our faith and lost it. We are easily shaken by events and we quickly question the outcomes. It is in these times where God just wants us to “Grab it” and turn back to Him and allow Him to take us through this time of sorrow or worry or whatever it is that interfered with our faith. Sometimes we fall and we need God to help us float back to the surface so that we can Grab His hand as He pulls us from the river of fear. 

My dear friend, God wants you to remember that He is consistent and He will lift you up and pull you out of your troubles. He wants you to point out to Him where you have difficulties and where you are going through issues that hinder your faith and He wants you to grab hold of His hand and trust Him as He pulls you from it and onto His shore where you will find peace and be released from your burdens.

"I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)

Have and awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 25 July 2013 (Greed)

A reminder for today

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, "My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the LORD lives, I will chase after him and get something from him." So Gehazi set off after Naaman. (2 Kings 5:20-21)

Naaman was the commander of King Aram’s army and although he was a great warrior he suffered from leprosy. He came to Elisha for help and Elisha send a messenger to tell Naaman to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River. After doing this he was cured and he wanted to reward Elisha, but Elisha did not accept any gifts from him. 

Elisha’s servant Gehazi was driven by greed and used the situation to his advantage. "Yes," Gehazi said, "but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them." (Verse 22)

Gehazi’s greed ended in a terrible punishment when he returned to his master and hid the gifts. He lied to Elisha when Elisha confronted him on where he has been. God had already told Elisha what had happened and so Gehazi was punished for his greed.

Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow. (Verse 27)

Greed is a terrible thing and we see it every day. People end up in terrible financial problems, because they wanted what they cannot afford. We seem to live in a world where everybody wants only the best and the need for things that are too expensive grips so many into financial ruin.

My dear friend, do not allow greed to mislead you into wanting what you cannot have. Greed easily turns into desire and before you know it you are knee deep in trouble. We should strive to live with contempt hearts and seek only more of Jesus. This world is a temporary dwelling for us and the things of this world should have no value for us. We should strive to live for Jesus and be contempt with what we have. A bigger house, a faster car and fancy clothes is not going to open the gates of heaven for you. 

Let us continue to seek Jesus and strive to live a life that will glorify Him as we live to show Jesus to the world. 

Have and awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers