To be a Glorious Church is to be a Soul Winning Church!!!

Just viewed this video to serve as a challenge that the harvest is truly plentiful. Opportunities abound all around us. Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China, issued the following challenge: "I believe that (in) each generation God has 'called' enough men and women to evangelise all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. . . . everywhere I go, I constantly meet with men and women who say to me, 'When I was young I wanted to be a missionary, but I got married instead.' Or, 'My parents dissuaded me,' or some such thing. No, it is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond."

Attain to become God's Fishers of Men for this generation.

Watch below and see what our brothers and sisters in Christ on the other side of the world is doing to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission.

Remember, to be a Glorious Church is to be a Soul Winning Church!!!

What Would You Do?

The Man Who Fell in a Hole.

Cloud Nine Mentality

Somebody said, “Your altitude determines your attitude.” Life is a series of scaling different mountains, hills and valleys. There is always that inner desire to reach a height or “cloud nine” no matter what the cost or sacrifice involved. Any student in elementary, high school or college will say, “I will study hard… finish…and graduate.” An employee will declare, “I will work hard to get a promotion.” Even an Olympic athlete running in a 100 meter dash will prepare and practice four years to run just under 10 seconds. Their goal: to stand on the podium with a gold medal around their shoulder. No matter what you will say every achievement even miniscule compared to others deserves being on cloud nine. It is an important aspect of every achievement. It is a crowning moment! It is an invigorating feeling that you’ve accomplished your objective. And that really feels good! What a rush! Hurray!!!!

Here are some indicators of being on cloud nine: you are elated on the results; ecstatic with positive outcome; fascination with personal achievement and enjoys sharing it with others. Don’t worry; you deserve to be on cloud nine because you’ve worked hard for it and you deserve that moment. Enjoy it and congratulate yourself for it even when others do not. But do not forget the God-factor and the others who were with you on your trek. Let me give you some things to consider in order for you to avoid the trap of the “cloud nine” mentality. There should be some underlying guidelines for continuous uphill victories rather than downhill slides. Primarily, it is important to pause and enjoy every “cloud nine” moments. But never to linger too long that you will just stay put and become at ease. Never allow yourself to be pre-occupied with what you have done while saying to yourself, “I have already attained.” And lastly, never stop looking forward for more and bigger challenges. They are still out there waiting for you to conquer.

The Scripture gave us a stern warning of a man who became rich, his “cloud nine” and his reaction towards it found in Luke 12:16-20, “And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

As mentioned earlier, where you are determines your next move. Where you are determines your attitude and outlook on life. Never lose your edge after reaching a “cloud nine.” When you reach the top, you have to make a decision to stop and stay there or say to yourself, “I will go to the next mountain.” You might be surprised to discover that the mountain you are standing on is only one of the many mountain tops. The Apostle Paul gave a very important principle to follow in this regard. Philippians 3:12-14 states, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” What the Apostle Paul describes is the ultimate experience of “cloud nine” in a very literal sense - Heaven itself!

All past achievements must not become your focus for what you will do next. Let them remind you of past victories and they are that: past victories. Keep them on your shelf to encourage you on next conquest. Therefore, do not lose heart if it seems that you are struggling now to reach your objective. Nobody said it would be easy! But every step you make towards it is a step towards victory and you are just few steps away from your “cloud nine.” What are you waiting for? Keep going.

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Living on the Edge

What makes life interesting and purposeful? I believe it is the daily encounters that put us always on the edge of exhilarating excitement and endless adventure. What am I talking about? Am I a crazy person just mumbling on something that I do not understand or on the verge of an amazing discovery to self-fulfillment? Hmnnn….

Just allow me for the moment to lead you to a journey of unearthing the road leading to new things of great joy in life. Jesus said in John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (NIV) Jesus has declared what many people do not want to happen, i.e. to have troubles in life. But if you notice, he has assured us of His peace to become available to us. And much more, He also encouraged us that He has overcome all troubles as well. This is what I call a “Tribulation Sandwich.” It is the troubles of life sandwiched between peace and encouragement of cheer from Jesus. Whenever we eat this sandwich, there are excellent nutrients and blessings in it that awaits every time we take a bite. So don’t be afraid and take a bite out of the many troubles facing you today.

Actually, trouble, trials, tribulations, challenges and whatever we may call any negative things that occur in our daily life are necessary to make our life on the edge. They are vitamins and minerals that add vitality to our daily grind. Although there are people who snort against it yet many have risen above it that made them a better person in the process of time. Let me illustrate it with this story: A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter sucked her teeth and waited impatiently, wondering what he was doing. In about 20 minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. She humbly asked, "What does it mean Father?" He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity: Boiling water but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

How about you? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do wilt and become soft, lose your strength? Are you like the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Are you fluid spirits, but after a death, a breakup, business bankruptcy, or a layoff have become hardened and stiff? The shell looks the same, but have you become bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart? Or are we like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor when it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. If we are like the bean, when things are at their worst, we get better and make things better around us.

In living your life today, how do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

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