Spiritual Reflections

How deep the Father’s love for me, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make me, a wretch, His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss - The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life - I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart - His wounds have paid my ransom. Original by Stuart Townend  Copyright © 1995 Thankyou Music

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care, And bids me at my Father’s throne Make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief, And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!            Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share, Of those whose anxious spirits burn With strong desires for thy return! With such I hasten to the place Where God my Savior shows His face, And gladly take my station there, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!            Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear To Him whose truth and faithfulness Engage the waiting soul to bless. And since He bids me seek His face, Believe His Word and trust His grace, I’ll cast on Him my every care, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!       Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consola

We all have relatives, and we all from time to time, receive requests for help from them. The question is when should we help them and when should we say NO? Where do we draw the line? A verse in 2 nd Timothy 5:8, raises an important issue. This verse says, “But if someone does not provide for his relatives, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever ( 2 Timothy 5:8). The question is who is Paul referring to hear as “family”? This is a pertinent question, as its answer will lead us to decide, who, if we do not provide for, makes us as believers, worse than unbelievers. According to the Henry Commentary, the church should not be charged with the maintenance of widows who had relations of their own that were able to maintain them. This is mentioned several times, “If any widow has children or nephews, that is grandchildren or near relations, let them maintain them, and let not the church be burdened ( 1 Tim. 5:4). The respect of chil

The Lord is Good ,  His love endures forever, I will praise Him always. The Lord is Gracious , His Grace is never ceasing, I will thanks him always. The Lord is Merciful , His Mercy is new every morning, I will cast my cares upon Him The Lord is my Provider , He blesses me with wealth and good health, I will go to Him for Healing. The Lord is Elohim , He is a conqueror of kings and kingdoms, I will trust in His vindication. The Lord is Great , He is worthy to be praised, Let all that has breath, praise the Lord!

When we are sick we should professes our entire dependence upon God for deliverance.  In the kingdom of Judah, when Jehoshaphat was attacked by a great army, and even though he had a great, and well disciplined army himself; yet he said, “ We have no might against this great company , none without You, none that we can expect anything from without Your special presence and blessing, none to boast of, none to trust to; but our eyes are upon You ." Jehoshaphat relied upon God and placed all his expectations upon Him (2 nd Chronicles 20).  When we are sick in our body, and desperate, knowing not what to do , this is the sovereign remedy; to place our eyes are upon the Lord God Almighty, an eye of acknowledgement and humble submission, an eye of faith and entire dependence, an eye of desire and hearty prayer, an eye of hope and patient expectation. In thee, O God! do we put our trust; our souls wait on thee!” (Adapted from Matthew Henry’s Commentary).

Everyone wants to be rich. Everyone wants to own a big house and not have to work for money. Everyone wants to be able to afford the best car, clothes, food, house; the best everything. But is everyone ready to pay the cost? We can learn lessons of how to become rich from King Jehoshaphat in the Bible (2nd Chronicles 17). The Bible says that, “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps at the beginning of his reign… 2nd Chronicles 17:3). Jehoshaphat did not worship idols, like the community surrounding him did. “Instead [he] sought the God of his ancestors and obeyed his commands…”. Because Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord and worshipped only Him, “The Lord made his kingdom secure; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected.” So we see that the reason Jehoshaphat became wealthy and respected is because he followed the footsteps of King David, who was a “man after God’s own heart”. However,

True love is not a set of feelings.  True love is a commitment. True love is not something that just happens.  You CHOOSE to love.   Lust can wait to get, Love can't wait to give. When you love someone, there should be an attraction.  That's part of it  There should be "feelings" - but true love is not the "feelings".  True love produces the "feelings' - they come from the decision to love someone. Love even when your wife/husband cannot share or show his/her feelings.   If you want to have true love, just love like Jesus did.     Agape love     Love with no thought of return     Love even when they can't show love     Decide to love, don't wait on the feelings     Determine to love.     The world's love (and lust) say...     1. I'll love you if           you'll love me           if you'll do something for me           if you'll make me feel a cert

Let those that are rich in wisdom, as well as wealth, learn to do good and be ready to distribute.   Give to everyone that asks you, according to your ability.  As every person has received so he or she ought to minister the same for the edification of others, whenever one has opportunity. King Solomon was generous of his wisdom and willing to teach others what he knew himself. Being taught of God, freely he had received, and freely he gave. If you are a person with wealth or wisdom, you should share it with others. This is because; happy will be those who have the opportunity of a constant converse with people who are knowing, wise, and good. In 2 nd Chronicles 8, The queen of Sheba thought Solomon’s servants happy who continually  heard his wisdom ; for, it seems, even to his servants, Solomon was generous. The queen of Sheba blessed God for the honour He put upon Solomon, and the favour He did to Israel, in advancing Solomon to the throne,  2 Chronicles 9:8. 

The sun reminds us of the Glory of God “When the praises go up, the blessings come down,” this is a true saying, for in the Bible when people praised God that is when God manifested Himself visibly. It was when Paul and Silas were praising God that an earthquake occurred and the doors of the prison were opened and the bonds of the prisoners came off (Acts 16:25-26). Also in the Old Testament, when King Solomon was dedicating the temple, the singers and musicians praised God, and then the house was filled with a cloud. It is very observable that it was not when the priests offered sacrifices, but when they sang the praises of God, that God gave them this token of His favour; for the sacrifice of praise pleases the Lord better than that of an ox or bullock, Psalms 69:31. (Matthew’s Commentary). In addition, it was when the whole group of people present were unanimous, when they were as one, to make one sound that The Holy God descended on the apostles when they met with one acco

When we are taking up a new position, we need to ask God for wisdom. This is especially so if we are taking over from someone who was very distinguished in that position. In 2nd Chronicles, when Solomon was taking over from David, he prayed this way: “Solomon replied to God, “You demonstrated great loyalty to my father David and have made me king in his place. 1:9 Now, Lord God, may your promise to my father David be realized, for you have made me king over a great nation as numerous as the dust of the earth. 1:10 Now give me wisdom and discernment so I can effectively lead this nation. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours.” (1 st Chronicles 1:8-10, Net Bible ). We should notice the distinction of those that went before us, and the responsibility that lies upon us to keep up and carry on the good work they were engaged in, should provoke us to a polite imitation, and quicken our prayers to God for wisdom and grace, that we may

We need to sacrifice ourselves in order for us to be a gift to others:   In Solomon’s time, the ark was at Jerusalem ( 2 Chronicles 1:4), but the altar was at Gibeon ( 2  Chronicles  1:5), and it was at Gibeon that Solomon brought his sacrifices; for   it is the altar that sanctifies every gift (Matthew Commentary). From this we learn many things, first is that Christ needed to die, in order for us to have eternal life. The Bible in Hebrews 9:22 says that, " In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." If Christ had not died then we would not have received forgiveness. Second, we also learn that we need to sacrifice ourselves in everything we do, we need to give our best in what we do, so that it becomes a sanctified gift. that is it becomes set apart, holy, a special gift. In our relationships with others, with our loved ones, etc we need to sacrifice our pleasures an