Are You Distracted?

Are You Distracted?

READ: Luke 10:38-42



In data collected from over 20,000 Christians in 139 countries, The Obstacles to Growth Survey found that, on average, more than 40 percent of Christians around the world say they “often” or “always” rush from task to task. About 60 percent of Christians say that it’s “often” or “always” true that the busyness of life gets in the way of developing their relationship with God. It’s clear that busyness does distract us from our fellowship with Him.

It seems that Martha too allowed busyness to distract her from spending time with Jesus. When she welcomed Him and His disciples into her home, she was occupied with preparing the food, washing their feet, and making sure they were comfortable. All of these things had to be done, but Luke seems to intimate that Martha’s busyness in preparation degenerated into busywork that distracted her from reflecting on Jesus’ words and enjoying time with Him (Luke 10:38-42).

What about us? Are we rushing from task to task, allowing the busyness of life and even work for Jesus to distract us from enjoying sweet fellowship with Him? Let’s ask God to help us diminish our distractions by making Jesus our focus. — Marvin Williams

Lord, I don’t want to miss out on moments of intimacy with You. Help me not to be so busy
that I fail to devote time each day to prayer
and reading Your Word. Amen.

If you are too busy for God, you are too busy.


http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/10/06/devotion.aspx

Bright future

bright future is what u're happy doin, not how much u earn... bright future is where God calls u, not where people said u should be - Jessica Jane Andin

The Importance Of Theology

August 26, 2009
The Importance Of Theology
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Kings 11:4-13
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. —2 Corinthians 6:14



When looking for a new car, potential buyers look at more than the exterior styling. They check out the inner workings that make it run smoothly and efficiently.

When choosing a spouse, however, some are not so careful. They discover too late that a beautiful body is camouflaging a defective mind and soul. Men and women both make this mistake, but author Carolyn Custis James was specifically concerned about men when she wrote: “[A] woman’s interest in theology ought to be the first thing to catch a man’s eye. . . . [Her] theology suddenly matters when a man is facing a crisis and she is the only one around to offer encouragement.”

Solomon should have known this. He was, after all, the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12; 4:29-34). But Solomon followed his own desires rather than God’s command and married women whose allegiance was not to God (11:1-2). The results were disastrous. Solomon’s wives turned his heart toward other gods (vv.3-4), and God became angry with him (v.9). The kingdom of Israel was eventually divided and defeated (vv.11-13).

Good theology is important for everyone. And it is difficult to make good decisions if our allegiance is to someone who does not know and love God. — Julie Ackerman Link

Thinking It Over
Why is it unwise for a follower of Christ to marry an unbeliever? What advice does Peter give to wives of unbelieving husbands? (see 1 Peter 3:1).

Faulty beliefs about God lead to faulty decisions about people.


Taken from http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/08/26/devotion.aspx

I can relate a lot to this. I shall talk about it more in the future. It's getting late nw, 1.40am. :-)

HOLY HUMOR

HOLY HUMOR

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, "I know what the Bible means!"
His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means?
The son replied, "I do know!"
"Okay," said his father. "What does the Bible mean?"
"That's easy, Daddy..." the young boy replied excitedly," It stands for 'Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.' (This one is my favorite)

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There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country.
"Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk.
"Only the Ten Commandments." answered the lady.

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"Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."

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A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.
Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses."
When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation."

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There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."

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While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust."

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A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"
A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.
"Really? How do you know?" the teacher asked.
"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... "

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A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.
"Reverend," said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip."
The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."

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People want the front of the bus, the back of the church, and the centre of attention.

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Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about.
The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt."
Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about.
He said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."

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The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.
"Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."
During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."
At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star Spangled Banner."
And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!

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Give me a sense of humor, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humor out of life,
And pass it on to other folk!

Praise Him

I was given the task to do the devotion for my music cell today and I came across this on the internet, which pretty much sums up what I wanted to talk about. I got this song in my head called, 'Everything that has breath'. It's an old song but I really like it and it fits nicely to this week's songs.

In Everything We Must Praise

November 16, 2007 — kdavid

IN EVERYTHING WE MUST PRAISE

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the LORD. ^a]">[a]
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

² Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,

⁴ praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

Praise theologically means to glorify, to say good things about someone or something but Biblically speaking it means to give honor and adoration to God.

It is a repetitive biblical concept that we should Praise the Lord at all times. You can find such examples in passages such as

Psalm 117:1

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth

And psalm 150.

The Bible gives us many examples of ways to express Praise to God, from the lifting of hands to the raising of our voices. But nowhere in scripture is there a list limiting one’s expression or style of praise to the Lord. Each of us have our own unique way of praising the Lord. Sometimes however in our natural human intellect we confuse worship with Praise. Let me explain to you the vast difference between worship and Praise. Worship is when we have that direct connection to God and everything around us suddenly disappears. It is when we have that private moment with our heavenly father. Praise on the other hand means to give honor and adoration to God to boast about God. It is our duty and our right to Praise the Lord at all times. David said in Psalms 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His Praise shall continually be in my mouth”. Those of us who are like David, who constantly sing Praises unto the Lord, realize that praising God is natural, it is innate within us. You see Praise is not a moment but it is a lifestyle and living a life of Praise leads to living a life of worship.

I have a few questions for you:

Why do we Praise? For many of us praising God was taught to us from the time we were small so the older we get it becomes second nature to us. But you see Praise starts stirring up inside of you every time you think about your testimony. I’m not talking about the thank you Jesus for waking me up this morning even though that is great and wonderful but I want to know how many of us has ever gotten to the point where we shabach’d God. You see shabach means to commend or to Praise something or someone with a loud voice. Has anyone been to a point in their lives where you thought there was no escape you thought that this was it, and then God came through for you and you felt something stirring up in your spirit to the point where it felt like you were going to burst?

That’s the Praise I am talking about. In 2 chronicles chapter 20:14-16 the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel and told king Jehoshaphat ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. The Lord assured Jehoshaphat that his army would not have to fight. The Lord God Himself said that he will deliver King Jehoshaphat and his army from the hands of his enemies. As we continue reading the passage it is said that King Jehoshaphat then bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem in worship before the Lord. After which some Levites from the kohathites and korahites stood up and praised the Lord with a very loud voice. You see sometimes even though we get a revelation from God for things that he is going to do for us, we seem to rest on His Word half way and still rely on our own strength. I strongly believe this is one of the reasons why we don’t get the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. If we are going to trust the Lord we have to do it completely. We all know the saying

“When the Praises go up the blessings will come down”.

Note the order our Praises must go up first. When the Praises go up then the blessings that the Lord have for us will come down. Now we have to be very careful, remember Praise is a lifestyle. If you plan to Praise the Lord only when you want something or when you fall on your face and as soon as God comes through for you, then you are going to go back to your regular routines. You see you need to move from using Lord to praising the Lord.

Is your Praise the same when you fall on your face? When you hit rock bottom is your Praise the same? And if it’s not the same, what is the reason for it not being the same? I firmly believe that there should be an increase in your Praise when you are down. I say this because when you understand what your Praise can do it will blow your mind. We all realize that the devil and his angels communicate through the frequency in the air and when you start praising you disrupt their communication. All this happens because Praise is your weapon.

God Bless, Kenton S. David

http://called2ministry.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/in-everything-we-must-praise-devotion-110607/

Psalm16

Last Sat, my youth invited me to speak for the afternoon. Not knowing what to preach about, I just started randomly looking at the Bible. I found out from past events, that it really works, just trusting in the Lord to see what God wants to me to say. So I eventually found Ps 16. Here it is, just a bit of a read through.

Psalm 16 (New International Version)

Psalm 16

A miktam of David. [a]

1 Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. [b]

4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, [c]
nor will you let your Holy One [d] see decay.

11 You have made [e] known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The Topic of the day was "TRUST"

I've split the psalm in to 3 parts/points. 1) Trust in the Lord. 2) He has the Master Plan 3) Rejoice in the Lord. I've also tried to explain each verse and how to apply it to our lives.

1) Trust in the Lord. vs 1-4

1. He protects - the main theme of the whole psalm is actually based on this verse and the rest is just the expression of it. Refuge. This is the key word. Refuge is a place where we feel safe, secure and protected. We need to know that, in times of trouble, he is the place where we take refuge, to be protected and be safe.

2. He is my all - You see, even David, a king says there no good things other than the Lord. Look around us, our own possessions, are but nothing. Because we don't actually own them, nor can we bring it back to 'home'.

3. He provides friends - (at this point I would like to point out that these are my interpretations and from what I've studied, do let me know if there is anything I need to change or add) I see this verse as God providing people/ friends for us. I've been truly blessed to have good friends all around, everywhere I go; from my home town in Keningau, to Labuan (which is where I met a lot of good people, in my college, whom I wish I could spend more time with) and in New Zealand. I know that in times of trouble, I could count on them to help me and support me.

4. Pray for others - I urge all of us, to pray for one another and to pray for the non belivers. Every night, in my prayer, I have a list of friends, who do not know the Lord and I pray for them, that one day.. one day.. they will know the Lord. Just look around, in your circle of friends, in uni, in your work place, there is bound to be someone that needs the Lord. Bless those people who are out there, going around daringly telling others of the Lord. If such courage is not within us, then, at least, pray for them and the none believers to have a soften heart.

2) He has the master plan. vs 5-8

5. He provides - each person in the world has a 'portion', big or small, depends on what is in God's plan, but it is always 'sufficient' for you to live on. The Lord even provides for the birds and the trees to live, what more us, his Children?

6. He has a set plan for us - there are two are that I can see from this verse.

One, expansion of your territory. Do pray that the Lord expand your territory and give you wisdom and strength to do what the Lord has in store for you. When I first arrived, I asked the Lord to provide me with an area which I can serve Him. He gave me the music ministry, which is where I found my talent of singing (I use to think that I don't have a good voice, until I started singing in NZ and people keep saying how good it is. Until now, I still don't fully belive that I have that nice of a voice, but I trust the Lord that He did gave me that. :-) ) Then a few months back, I prayed about expantions of my boundaries and to give me more areas to serve Him. The Lord bless me with youth work, which I'll be starting as soon as I get back to NZ.

Two, he has a set path for us. Imagine that you are in a jungle, with no map or compass. We will most likely be going around in circles. This is the same in our lives if we do not have Jesus in the throne of our life. With God directing and showing the way, we will have a path and a road in the thick of the jungle.

7. He counsels you - In times of trouble, we always try to find help, or want someone to reach out to. It is always good to know that God is just a prayer away. I spend a lot of time online and there are times when I have friends who seek my counsel either in relationship problems or other matters. I always pray a short prayer before I start doing anything. "God, help me. Use me and tell me what you want me to say to him/her, to help her and guide her. I lift this up to You Lord. Amen" This little prayer, time and time again, have help me help others. I really thank God for giving me the opportunity to help people in need.

8. He is my strength - Look, even David, who has an army behind him, still puts God before everything. By doing so, he has summoned the strength that is only given by the Lord. Strength that will cause you not to be shaken in times of trials. Spiritual attacks are getting more and more frequent these days. They can even come from friends and family that are close to us. Stand firm but lead on the Lord. When the enemy attack, love him/her.


3) Rejoice in the Lord. vs 9-11

9. Sing to the Lord - Sing on to the Lord, with all your heart and rejoice. I'm blessed by the Lord with a nice voice and musical talent which I am able to serve the Lord int he music ministry. I'm also blessed with being able to write songs of praise and worship. I urge my fellow Christians to give your full-hearted worship when singing. Read and enjoy the lyric, these words are the writer's heart felt joy and love for the Lord.

10. He will not leave you - singing and rejoicing in the Lord keeps Him in your heart. In times of trouble, he'll be there. No matter what.

11. He fills you with Joy - This joy is not the joy that we see on TV. Everyone can be happy, and have joyful moments. But the Joy that a Christian has, is a different Joy. It is God given and is more than a warm feeling. It's God love and peace upon us.


So that's generally my sharing for the youth. Don't really know if it was a bit hard or long (boring) for them. Most of them are my little age (13-15 year-olds). But I hope they understand what I was trying to tell them. I ended with a song I made a few months back. Hope they are blessed by it.


Any Comments, please do so. Need feed back to make sure I'm saying the right things and to teaching wrong things as I'll be leading the youth in New Zealand this year. Pray for me. God Bless..