We often pray for peace but sometimes we fail to start it within us. it all starts with LOVE. Peace is the product of love and love has a divine origin. We are a product of that LOVE. It is God's Love manifested through us for we were created in His image and likeness. it is not us who searched for God first; It is not us who loved God first but He searched for us and Loved us first.

The world has distorted our minds on the way we think of peace. The world pulls it down to a level of understanding which we can QUANTIFY so that it will be easier to understand. To live wealthy, to live in a secured subdivision, to have a stable employment, to have big business, to have a good retirement... etc., these are some of the things the world equates to peace. They are not all bad but when we pursue these things and not pursue God, then there is the vast difference.

Peace is not the absence of all the troubles in life but it is the presence of God inside our heart. It is that silent- powerful word that says, "son, everything will be alright...", when everything else seem helpless. That is the assurance we receive from God in every trial and sufferings we are going through. It is God's peace.

Pursue God and everything else will follow. It starts from accepting Jesus for He is the only mediator between God and Man.

Have a peacefully peaceful Monday! Shalom!

Wise Men Say

The moment you say you already know everything about God is the moment you need Him most in your life. (See Rom 1:22 - Claiming to be wise, they became fools.)

There is a language that is very difficult to understand but everybody knows about it. The language has been very successful in creating brokenness and separation in the lives of people. It is the language of pride that keeps on plaguing the lives of people even from the beginning of time. It was when the first persons in the world wanted to become God. A thirst for power, richness or fame is what deceives people until this present time. It is also the innate weakness of man. It is the same weakness that has been used to entice people to invest in a business of uncertainty.

Most of us are aware on the definition and practice of idolatry to worshiping images carved in woods or stones but are not aware of the idolatry that is embedded deep within our hearts. Pride, supremacy, fortune and our selves can be idolatry in itself. ANYTHING we place before God is idolatry. It is anything we RELY ON MORE THAN GOD and ANYTHING WE LOOK TO FOR GREATER FULFILLMENT THAN GOD. Our wealth, does it glorify God? Our relationship, does it glorify God? Our job, does it glorify God?...etc. or Is it a means of a greater separation between us and God?

If the answer is YES to these questions then let us start learning a new language. Instead of the language of pride let us begin to speak the language of Love - To love God and to love others.

As we chart our appointments in business or work, let us not forget to place God on top of our priority for NOTHING is greater than God. Let us also share the good news we hear in church to others. It can change lives. Jesus changes lives not jeflivs.

The word:

1. "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!" Romans 1:22-25

2. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Mathew 6:33

Lemons and Lemonade

Failures and defeats can be your stepping stones toward success. The greatest men and women of all time were those who were able to turn their failures to success. To name few:

Walt Disney-Our childhood would have been dreary without this genius of a man. Walt Disney was also another boy brought up in a farm – and used to draw pictures for his neighbors for money. He used to be the cartoonist for the school newspaper, Disney went through the jobless phase where no one hired him, and his brother had to help him out with his job search. He went from rags to riches by starting out with advertisements and going on to animating his own cartoons.

Samuel Walton - Growing up in the great depression of the 1930s, Walton had to milk family cow and do numerous odd jobs to help family survive. After the war, he took out a loan to buy a small grocery store. He went on to build this into the giant Walmart supermarket chain, amassing a fortune of over $23 billion

Oprah Winfrey. Born to a housemaid and a coal miner, Oprah definitely did not grow in the lap of luxury. Living the life of poverty, where she used to have to wear dresses made out of potato sacks and was molested by relatives. She entered the world of media after getting the job of a news-reader in a local black radio station. After she got her first talk-show in Chicago, there was no looking back for this TV personality.

Howard Schultz - Born to poor Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York. Schultz was the first member of his family to attend college. Working his way up from a salesperson for Xerox, he became CEO of Starbucks, and oversaw its rapid growth, leaving him a net worth of $1.6 billion by 2013.

JK Rowling- Before becoming the international best selling author of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling was a struggling single mother. Life was tough for her living off of government welfare, but she stuck to it and even managed to find the time to write. The result? She's estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion. JK Rowling is literally the definition of a rags to riches story.

Whatever hardships, trials or difficulties we may experience, God is greater and He uses these things to make us more dependent upon him. When we feel defeated, we can get back on track by living victoriously in Jesus, believing that he will comfort and help us. He is in control and greater than our circumstances.

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (Galatians 6:9). We are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37)!

Lastly, if you’re someone reading this that has never trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal savior I have  great news for you. God loves you so very much and has tremendous plan in your life. He wants to save you from your sins so that you can experience eternal life and be with him in heaven, but he also wants to be there for you through life’s difficulties. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Apart

Isn't it a great feeling to know that you are loved? A feeling that someone is praying for you and a feeling that someone misses you too!

Didn't you know that no matter how others turn their back on us and that no matter how we place ourselves apart from God, He will be looking for us to be back in His arms.

Some of us might have been living separate lives and might have been feeling alone in this world, the truth is, we were never alone. It was not God who walked away from us. It was us. Our sins separated us from God. Give love a chance, Give God a chance... to transform your life.

"Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back." -Deuteronomy 30:4