Proverbs 18

Hey this is good stuff! I Love Gods Word. Its powerful, refreshing, motivating, and definitely ‘lamp to my feet and light to my path’ Psalm 119. Read each verse slowly,meditate on it as you go…..Post a Comment on your favorite verse.

Proverbs 18

1 Unfriendly people care only about themselves;
they lash out at common sense.

2 Fools have no interest in understanding;
they only want to air their own opinions.

3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace,
and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

4 Wise words are like deep waters;
wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

5 It is not right to acquit the guilty
or deny justice to the innocent.

6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;
they are asking for a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;
they trap themselves with their lips.

8 Rumors are dainty morsels
that sink deep into one’s heart.

9 A lazy person is as bad as
someone who destroys things.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
the godly run to him and are safe.

11 The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense;
they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

12 Haughtiness goes before destruction;
humility precedes honor.

13 Spouting off before listening to the facts
is both shameful and foolish.

14 The human spirit can endure a sick body,
but who can bear a crushed spirit?

15 Intelligent people are always ready to learn.
Their ears are open for knowledge.

16 Giving a gift can open doors;
it gives access to important people!

17 The first to speak in court sounds right—
until the cross-examination begins.

18 Flipping a coin[a] can end arguments;
it settles disputes between powerful opponents.

19 An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.
Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

20 Wise words satisfy like a good meal;
the right words bring satisfaction.

21 The tongue can bring death or life;
those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

22 The man who finds a wife finds a treasure,
and he receives favor from the Lord.

23 The poor plead for mercy;
the rich answer with insults.

24 There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

New Living Translation

Stop Being Normal!

…………following from last Sundays Sermon…………………..

You can not be a follower of Jesus and stay normal.

“When anyone is joined to Christ he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come”. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

The dead old, boring, gutless, purposeless, normal you is GONE! You are now a new person, fueled by the power of Christ in you. Someone is going to take notice of the change and say ‘Something has happended to you. You are not the same person you used to be. If your boss at work doesn’t know that you are a Christian you are probably not.

You are new person. You are now radical and willing to do whatever it takes to live for Jesus and follow him, to love God and love people. It takes guts to follow Christ. Jesus said “If you want to follow me take up your cross and come follow me”.

You can’t follow Jesus and still try to live a normal life.

Cefas was a normal, everyday fisherman. But when Jesus called Cephas to leave everything and follow him, he did and he was not the same again. First his name was changed to Simon Peter. He never went to any preaching school but when he spoke on the day of Pentecost 3000 people gave their lives to Christ. Now thats not normal for a fisherman!!

Paul was a normal Pharisee doing what normal Pharisees do. At the time he was killing new converted Christians. But when he encountered God on the Road to Damascus, he wasn’t the same again. He reached the Gentile world with the gospel.

You can’t follow Jesus and continue to live life in a normal way. You can’t love with the same normal love you loved people before you found Jesus. You can not give the same way you used to give. You can not serve the same way you used to.

People who follow Christ Are not Normal. The Bible calls them ‘Perculiar people’ – 1 Petr 2:9, because with Christ they are now people of power, people of promise, more than conquerors but most of Faith in God who can do exceedingly, abundantly and above all……..Ephesian 3:20

Normal people are ‘average’ people who do average work and produce average results. No one is inspired with ‘average’.

Tell me someone who is well known because he/she was average. Show me a monument of an average leader.

Normal people don’t inspire others

Normal people don’t make incredible leaders

Normal People don’t change the world

Normal people don’t take risks

Normal people don’t face fears

Normal people die with a lot of regrets.

Step up another level today and live above normal.

For someone who is going through a rough time

I was reading Psalm 27 this morning. Gave me motivation to face todays trials! If you are going through a rough time. this is for you. Don’t let evil walk over you today! Be calm as a baby, cool and collected.

Psalm 27 – A David Psalm

1 Light, space, zest— that’s God!

So, with him on my side I’m fearless,

afraid of no one and nothing.

2 When vandal hordes ride down

ready to eat me alive,

Those bullies and toughs

fall flat on their faces.

3 When besieged,

I’m calm as a baby.

When all hell breaks loose,

I’m collected and cool.

You can Do it!

LifeChurch Manurewa November Series

I am excited to announce our new series this month at LifeChurch. I believe you are going to be Blessed and Inspired by the Word of God but you must also be willing to allow the Word to challenge and change you so that you can reach your God given potential.

You are more than what you have done! Don’t settle for anything less than Gods best. You can do it!!

If you are in Auckland City, join us this Sunday morning 11:00.  www.lifechurch.co.nz

Prayer for the Media

Last week at the Annual Pacific Island Media Conference in Auckland,  I was asked to pray to open the conference. As someone who has been involved in the media for 20 years,  I prayed (not as a pastor but as a media person) asking God for his forgiveness and his help. I decided to post this on my blog because I received an unexpected overwhelming reaction from the media people who were at the conference.  I pray that you too will pray this prayer with me.

Father in heaven we gather here today as men and women who work in the media industry.

Lord we know we have a place in society as the eyes, the ears and the mouth of our communities and nation. We have a special task to do and we ask Lord that we will do a great job of it.

Even today as gather that it will help us become better in what we do. And that is ‘To communicate and to disseminate information that are relevant and vital for the good our communities’.

Lord we pray that you will help us all who work in this industry to realize that we are in a position of power and influence.

Help us to understand that in our hands is a powerful tool called Media that can influence decisions.

A powerful tool that can shape perceptions and attitudes.

A powerful tool that can change people and the mindset of a nation.

A powerful tool that can potentially destroy people’s lives

Lord help us not to underestimate the power of media and influence of our work.

Lord deliver us from abusing our position and the power that media holds, for our own gain, our own ego and our own good.

Lord forgive us the Media for being unwise in the some of the things we have said on air that has done more harm than good.

Forgive us for fabricating stories and news items, for printing inaccurate information and malicious comments in our magazines and newspapers and blogs and call it freedom of speech

Forgive us for invading people’s private lives and for unnecessarily putting our nose into areas that we shouldn’t and call it good journalism

Forgive us for taking things out of context and editing stories and videos to suit the story and the demand and our opinion rather than presenting the truth.

Help us to uphold Good Broadcasting Standards and guidelines.

Help us to uphold good family values even Godly values in programmes and stories.

Help us to uphold good ethics in journalism an in the media.

Help us to relish truth more strongly than own prejudices and personal agendas.

May we present truth in a way that will enlighten hearts rather than inflame passions and conflicts.

And finally Lord we know that we have been trained that negative news sells and juicy gossip is profitable.

Help us to focus more on the positive not so much on the negative in spite of what we have been taught or to assigned to do, knowing that there is more good out there that we have failed to recognize and report on.

Your Word tells in Philippians 4:8 ‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Help us not to be negative biased media.

Bless PIMA and the work they do in promoting Media in our Pacific Community. Bless the discussions of today.

We pray in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Let God Arise

Let God ARISE!! What a Powerful Statement!!

I have been meditating on this passage this morning Psalm 68. Do you have enemies? (Not necessarily people). Not everything and everyone is for you and with you. We are in a constant battle everyday. Don’t do it on your own. Let God ARISE within you!!

My goal today is to let God ARISE in my life! In my motives, in my attitude, in my speech, in my dealings, in daily business, in my marriage, in my children.

Today I choose to let God ARISE in my relationships, in my connections, in my finances, in my business, in my family, in my meetings.

Today I choose to let God ARISE in my prayers, in my decisions, in my leadership.

Today I am giving him more room to move than I did yesterday! I want to see Him ARISE!

Read the rest of Psalm 68 for the results of “God Arise” in your Life!!

Choose who you listen to today

2 Timothy 1:7…   For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear is NOT from God. Fear is from Satan. Listening to your fears is listening to the Devil. He does not want you to succeed, be blessed and to accomplish all that God has purposed for you. Instead if you listen to the voice of God, he gives you POWER, LOVE and SOUND MIND.

He gives Power:

Power to overcome. Power to accomplish. Power to possess. Power to succeed.

He gives Love:

Love to share. Love to overcome. Love to heal

He gives Sound Mind:

Sound mind to make decisions. Sound mind to plan. Sound mind to understand.

Listen out for the voice of God speaking to you today! You will be empowered!

Faith, Hope and Love

Spoke about Faith, Hope and Love last night. (after thoughts) 1 Corinthians 13:13

Without a hope for the future there can be no power for the present. Hope gives motivation to do what we are called to do today because we have assurance of tomorrow. Our hope is heaven and everlasting life and fellowship with God. Our hope is secured and assured because of the work of Christ. Find Hope in God today. Rom 15:13

Faith fuels Hope. When we feel hopeless we need to inject faith in our hearts. Faith comes by hearing the Word, (Rom 10:17)from times of worship, and also by being surrounded with the right people who carry faith in their spirit and speech.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)The Scriptures say that we need to walk by faith and not by sight.(2 Cor 5:7)

Love is the outward manifestation of the Hope in us. Love is an overflowing of Hope which results in action. (Rom 15:13)

Hope fuels love. Love is a verb. Love is a doing word. (words of a song).  What good is faith when we don’t have action to show. Love in action is evidence of our hope and faith.

Do you have enemies?

Here’s a great verse to help you pray for your enemies

Psalm 35:13 “But as for me when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned into my own bosom”

Praying for people you do not like, or people who hate you is not the most inspirational thing to do – I must admit. But there is great benefit in doing so.

David is saying here that his prayers did not benefit his enemies due to their sin and rebelliousness toward God. Yet God rewarded him for his prayers and for showing mercy and grace toward them in their time of trouble. (“my prayer returned into my own bosom”)

David fasted and prayed for his enemies. He showed compassion toward them.
In vs 14, He treated his enemy as friend. He returned good for evil, as he would to his own brother or mother. What a great heart!

Jesus said ‘turn the other cheek’ . In Matthew 5:44 he said: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. He not only taught it, he lived it.

On the cross he prayed “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do“

I gotta pray more of these type prayers!!

Random thoughts on Leadership

Please the audience of ONE – God

Don’t tolerate religious spirit in the church. Confront it and sweep it away.

Offend the religious people. Jesus did.

Build Generationally – Don’t drop the baton. Work hard on the exchange zone. Train, empower and release the next generation. Model with patience. discipline with love

Raise a new generation of leaders

Love “CHANGE”

Challenge casual mindset. A ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude builds nothing and achieves nothing.

Respect history and traditions but never let it control today.

Lead don’t drive

Explore the supernatural

Push your leadership lid

Pursue God relentlessly