“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” ~ Psalm 10:1   REFERENCE Psalm 10:1-6 & 16-18 Sometimes, we go through experiences in life that make us feel God is deliberately hiding from us. We question if He is still there and if He is, why is He allowing us to go through such painful experiences and not answering our prayers? Jesus, God’s Son, felt the same way when He cried out on the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” (My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me). For the first time,...

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Proverbs 4:25 (ESV) REFERENCE Proverbs 4:25 (ESV) Yesterday we ended with the thought that being mission-minded is an integral part of living a purposeful and meaningful life on earth. Below are some practical things that can help you develop mission-mindedness. Firstly, identify your goal and calling in life – What is your goal post in life? Why is that important to you? When you have done that, then develop a Mission Statement that will help you to achieve that goal. A mission statement that tells you what...

And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” I Samuel 17:29 REFERENCE I Samuel 17:22-29 & 34-37 One undeniable quality of high-fliers in society is a supernatural sense of mission. They live as though they were sent on a mission. They live conscious of that mission and as though time is against them. A good example is the missionaries who left the comfort of the western world to bring the Gospel to the disease-infested jungles of Africa. Many came at their own cost and in peril of their own lives. What was driving them? What...

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”  Psalm 12:5 REFERENCE Psalm 12:1-5 Living in the city means you do not hear a tree fall in the forest. The fact that you do not hear it does not mean that the tree did not fall. There are several events of life that we never hear, see or know anything about, because of the limitations of our human nature. However, there is a God who knows, and is intimately...

The Lord has made everything for its purpose ~ Proverbs 16:4a (ESV)   REFERENCE Proverbs 16:4a (ESV) God had a purpose for you to fulfill on earth before He allowed you to be conceived by your mother. No matter the circumstances surrounding your birth, you are significant in God’s scheme of things. Purpose is the reason for which a thing exists. A chair is not like a table because of its purpose. Your purpose is what you were created for. At some point in your life, the question of why you are here (purpose) will surface, especially as you mature...

““But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.” Matthew 25:26   REFERENCE Matthew 25:24-30 The bible is full of scathing comments about the lazy man and laziness. Often, many blame their poverty on unemployment, the economy, or the government’s ineptitude. As true as these may be, Scripture often puts the blame on a person’s laziness. Solomon said, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep – so shall your poverty come…”...

Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Psalm 30:6   REFERENCE Psalm 30:6-7 When I think of a lullaby, I think of the popular song, “Rock-a-bye Baby.” One account says it pictures a mother trying to rock her baby to sleep and singing to her. A lullaby simply suggests a sweet and melodious song whose sole objective is to send you to sleep unexpectedly. You may be enjoying the song, but the ultimate goal is to send you to sleep, becoming unaware of your environment. David, in our text, fell into the great temptation of wealth or prosperity...

“And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” – I Kings 22:14   REFERENCE I Kings 22:1-8 & 13-23   This popular Latin maxim, ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’, simply means, “The voice of the people is the voice of God”. Better still, it means, ‘the majority carries the vote.’ But is that really so? Is the voice of the populace the voice of God? If many people share the same opinion about a matter, does it mean that is God’s opinion too? King Ahab intended to go to war and he decided to seek God’s face. He...