Insights Into God A 26 Day Devotional Book PDF

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Theology A-Z
Insights into God for the Lay person
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Dr. Paul R. Friesen
Theology A-Z
Insights into God for the layperson
Introduction
These short daily writings do not have scriptures verses attached to them.
They are designed to focus on Gods character without a lot of
interference about interpretation and tradition.
As a layperson, I often need to relax and focus on who God is. Simple
thinking which reflects my daily struggle and how God fits into it.
The words used are often opposites in ideas. You can disagree or agree
with them. If you read them reflectively, you may enjoy the daily
readings and view God in a new way throughout the whole day.
May your day be filled with God,
Dr. Paul R. Friesen (D. Min.)
Theology A-Z
Thought for day 1

The awesomeness of God must
include both His love and His
anger. As His creations, we
have both, but to keep them in
balance takes more strength
than most of us have.
Theology A-Z
A is for Awesome because we have an awesome

God.
A is also for Anger or angry. God is sometimes angry
and so are we.
We sing the song, We have an AWESOME God. It is a great song
but I often wonder if we understand the awesomeness of who
God is. AWESOME is a word that kids learn and use without
thinking too much.
If we turn the word around we can see SOME and AWE.
Something makes us fix our focus. We cannot turn away from
what we see because it is so different. Awesome draws us into the
power of the object. But not a mesmerizing draw but an
empowering sense of desire to follow.
We have an AWESOME God because what and who He is. He can
create anything from nothing. He just has to speak and it
happens. How many times I wish I had this power. It is this sense
of desire that drives us forward to be more like God.
Other A words are ARBITRARY. There are no gray areas with God.
There are only ABSOLUTES. When God speaks it is exact and
clear. There is no need to think hard about what He said or
desires. This makes His power so clear and pure you can see
through it. The consequence or blessing is clearly spelled out.
Though we are made in the image of God, we cannot match the
AWESOMENESS of His power. But we can be AWE-struck by those
who would seem to have this power. When we are in this mode
we cannot see clearly. We can get confused. Remember Gods
power is clear and we can se clearly even if we do not understand.
When we are AWE-struck we become hypnotised and enslaved to
anothers power. This is the difference.
A is also for ANGER. I know you and I get ANGRY. It is part of
Gods character that we have. ANGER is not wrong. In fact being
ANGRY can be very godly. The question is why we get ANGRY. It
is for the same reason that God gets ANGRY most of the time. We
Theology A-Z
do not get the glory. We do not get the pat on the back that we
think we deserve. We also get ANGRY because we want to be
number 1.
God gets angry for basically one reason. This reason is because
He wants us to have His power, His balance, His eyes, His desires.
His desire for us is so high that when we disobey He cannot give
us the blessings and GIFTS that He wants to give us.
Gods anger is not driven by anything other than the desire to be
#1 in our life. It is the constant disobedience on our part that
makes Him angry.
But, if He is such an AWESOME God why not give Him our whole
life. Let Him get ANGRY because He sees the past and the future
clearly. Because He made us in His mage He understands our
desires more than we do. Most of all He, God, never loses His
emotional balance which is why He is so AWESOME in power.
Theology A-Z
Prayer for the day

Dear God,
There are so many challenges in my day. I struggle at times to
balance my emotions. Because You are awesome I know you
will be my strength and balance. I give you my stressors today
because you are so much stronger than I.
To God be the glory,
Amen
Theology A-Z
Thought for day 2

I feel so battered and tired. I
know I can do better. I need to
be covered with Gods batter
so people see Him and not me.
Theology A-Z
B is for Better because we can do better and be

better.
B is for Batter because with God we need not be so
tired.
B is for BETTER or BUTTER. I like BUTTER. It gives taste to a hot
piece of toast. It makes the cakes that I bake also taste BETTER,
but it is greasy and the things that I hold tight slip out of my
hands so I get tired.
B is also for BATTER. That almost sounds the same if you arent
careful. BATTER is what you cover things with if you deep fry
them. Like a KFC chicken bucket full of BATTERED chicken.
BATTER is also the raw liquid dough to make pancakes.
In our culture BATTER has been lessened because it is not
healthy. We like the spices but dont like the unhealthy grease that
we get from deep frying. But BATTER is great for those finger
foods like chicken wings and deep fried shrimp. Batter is used to
cover things up and give spice to things that are not so tasty.
Because it is so runny it is hard to hold in your hand and control.
But Batter is also a verb. The disciples felt quite BATTERED after
the storms they faced trying to cross the Sea. We often feel tired
because we have been BATTERED by the circumstances of life.
Our expectation of others hasnt been on target. People demand
too much of us because we have a skill they need. We want to
give up because to keep going seems like too much work, or takes
too much energy.
In real life we put BATTER on things we do not want to deal with.
We cover these things up with emotions or actions. We go to
Church and give big testimonies to feel and look good. We do not
like the truth. But it is the truth that sets us free. At least that is
what the Bible says.
Theology A-Z
Of course we BATTER other people so that we look BETTER. We
really do not need to do that. We need to look at ourselves as God
sees us. When we see ourselves as God sees us we can set
ourselves on a course to change. But this change never is
easy most of the time.
Making BATTER is easy. A few spices or eggs, milk, flour, salt, and
a few more small things. BATTER is also neutral, so it is our choice
of how we use it. If we use it to cover our sin we will never enjoy
the true nature and power of God. If we change the spices we can
have a life which is enjoyable so we are BLESSINGS to others.
The hard part is not to have too much BUTTER in our BATTER
because we want to be BETTER. To give BALANCE to these we
need to focus on being a BLESSING to others. This is what God
wants for you, me and all of His creation. If we all focus on Gods
creation as a BLESSING to each other, this means our desires and
reason to be, our lives will become BETTER.
Theology A-Z
Prayer for the day

Dear God,
Many people around me feel battered and tattered. They have
become confused and stressed. Help me to see how You can
make them better by taking their burdens from them.
Amen
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Thought for day 3

I am at a crossroad in my life.
Which way should I turn?
Though some see the cross as
a crutch, l view it as the reason
to turn my life around.
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C is for CROSS which is the CROSSroads to our life.

C is for CRUTCH, which we lean on while we gaze
alone at the CROSS, not wanting to leave them
behind because we are insecure.
I have seen many CROSSES in many shapes and sizes. They hang
around the necks of people. They are stuck on the doors of
peoples houses and mark the night sky as markers for the lost.
But for many the idea of CROSS is the idea of change. Bring at the
CROSSROADS of life. A time to make decisions when you dont
know where to go. For some the CHOICES are easy. For others
the CHOICES make for pain of severed relationships. The CROSSROAD is there in all of our lives.
There is also the idea of CROSSHAIRS. A hunting word when you
are ready to shoot your prey. Death being the ultimate goal of the
hunter and most of the time hidden from the hunted. Satan
always has us in his CROSSHAIRS. He waits patiently for us to get
on fire for our God and then strikes. But CROSSHAIRS is about
narrowing our goals to achievable desires. When we find that our
goals are within sight we can focus our time and energy on them.
There is power in the true CROSS of CHRIST. The sacrifice that
Jesus made for you and me. The blood which was asked for from
the beginning was replaced with Jesus blood so we would no
longer have paint our doors with it as protection. It is this CROSS
that we must pass through like a door to heavens gate. Without it
there is no future life just an earthly existence with on our bodies
on CROSSES.
C is also for CRUTCH. We see CRUTCHES on people who have
hurt their legs. They are limited in their mobility. Those are real
CRUTCHES. But there are other CRUTCHES we have. There is
religion which we use to deny others relationships or dvancement.
There is culture, which we use as an excuse to be rude or not to
CHANGE and get better.
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CRUTCHES and CROSSES have some things in common. Both can
be superficial and give images which are not true. CRUTCHES,
when used for sympathy, hinder growth and healing of ourselves
and those around us. This is not based in one religion or culture
but all religions or cultures. CRUTCHES and CROSSES also make
us CHOOSE where we want to go.
The CROSS leads us to a choice of paths to our future. We can
move forward to a new life in Christ or we can move sideways
making our own path with all its excitement of making our own
destiny. The CROSS demands that we sacrifice everything or
nothing.
The CRUTCHES we use keep us from moving forward. Again the
CHOICE is the path to our future. So many people prefer to keep
CRUTCHES because of the attention they get, rather than
CHOOSING to rise above them and move forward to new
strengths. To be rid of CRUTCHES means we need to sacrifice our
pride.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I face the day often with anxiousness and stress. I need to lean
on You more for strength. The cross is the only reason I can
continue in the chaos that plagues my day.
Amen
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Thought for day 4

Death seems like an option to
relieve stress. In reality, the
feelings come from misplaced
desire. To desire what God
desires, letting Him take care
of the things that we cant
control, will give us the life we
desire.
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Theology A-Z
D is for DEATH, which must come if we are to live

again.
D is for DESIRE, which is what all of us struggle with
at times.
D is for DISASTER which we seem to have sometimes. But a
DISASTER is because DEATH is not complete and DESIRE is too
high. Does that make sense?
Well the Bible is full of this picture. The principle being that if we
die to our DESIRE we will have a happy life. For many this is never
the case. In fact, for very few is this the case. Now I cant speak
for you but I think that this is true.
Now let us consider this idea one more time. I want to be happy
and rich. Maybe you want to be poor and sad. I have seen many
happy people who are very poor. They are happy because they
have accepted life, and the system of life, as God spoken. They do
not challenge their life like we do.
Then we say they must change because we cannot accept their
lack of things. We need things to show we are happy and the lack
of things to show commitment. These values are not from the
Bible but from culture. So to understand the idea of DEATH
DESIRE and DISASTER we need to see the world form a
different perspective.
DEATH is the final end of life. That is easy. DESIRE is the
fulfillment of our physical life and we cannot take it with us.
DISASTER is when these two come together in earthquake like
proportions. If my DESIRE for myself is too high DEATH comes to
relationships which I value. Then when I need these relationships
I have a DISASTER because they are not there.
Let us look at this another way which has a better outcome. We
are promised that if our DESIRE is the same as Gods DESIRE
there is power and happiness in our life. That is a good promise.
Many preachers and most Christians will tell you this is what they
do, or want to do. But is it a reality? That is a good question to
ask and if you are honest it isnt.
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In reality we are scared that if we give up our DESIRE we will die.
Now I have wanted to die many times. I have knocked on
DEATHs door but he has so far refused to let me in. sometimes it
is because my DESIRE has been too high and DISASTER has come
into my life. DISASTER to me, but opportunity for God.
Opportunity, because God sees DISASTER as a way to give us our
DESIRE, that is to be more like Him. Many times I need a
DISASTER to see things like God sees things. His view is very
different than mine.
Today the question is for us to answer. Which D word are we
struggling with? Is it the DEATH of self or relationships? Is it our
DESIRE which is too high and we cannot feel fulfilled? Or, is it that
we are now in a DISASTER and cant see God through our
confusion? Only you can answer these questions. You need to
answer them honestly and then tell God through simple prayer the
truth and what your true DESIRE is. He really wants to give you
ALL the DESIRES of your heart. But, He wants you to DESIRE Him
first.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
To escape from my daily stressors is never far from my mind.
Today my desire is to give all those things I cannot control to
You. That is what Your death was all about, my life.
Amen
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Thought for day 5

When God is everything, my
life is energized. It is when I
want some if it for myself that I
lose energy and focus.
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E is for EVERYTHING which is what God wants from

us.
E is for ENERGIZED which we are when we are free
from the chains of our primal self.
In theology people talk about the ten per cent, or the tithe. This is
a truth but really ignores large parts of the Bible. The tenth was to
go for the Priests and maintenance of the Tabernacle and
Priesthood. In reality God wants 100%, or EVERYTHING.
This is evident in all books of Scripture. They were not to commit
to the Tabernacle or Church. They were to commit to Christ. In
the Old Testament God demanded 100% of their life to be
successful. It was only the 100% that would guarantee the
success and lack of war with their neighbours. Sadly, most of the
time they followed man and the demands of those in charge. This
resulted in a life of slavery until they reset their values and goals.
In the New Testament the people were encouraged to maintain
their commitment to the Christian ideal which required no blood
sacrifice or circumcision. But the message was again clear. The
demand from God was 100%. You cannot serve two masters is
the message of the Gospels. Paul teaches that we must choose a
life of slavery. Slavery to God or to another. God promises so
much more than any other master. Wouldnt a life of peace and
contentment be worth giving someone 100% to?
E is also for ENERGIZED. Has anything ever really energised you?
Stimulate you so that sleep and tiredness are never a part of your
thinking. No worries just a drive as if you have fresh wind behind
you. I have had that experience many times. You seem to be
superhuman in ENERGY. Once you have experienced this in
relationship you will desire it again. You cannot bask in the past
ideals. Rather it will drive you to find it again.
The difference is found in this ENERGY. There is no secret formula
to this. Like all good Theology it is simple. Many people argue over
what is Gods and what is mine. The Christian Church has got it so
wrong so many times, while other religions seem to keep this
principle as a guiding light.
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The idea of EVERYTHING and ENERGY is so important. The
connection between the two is absolute. This is the same in love.
When we are ENERGIZED by our significant other there is never a
tired moment. The small things that interfere with our relationship
and take away the ENERGY makes us thirsty to continue our
commitment. Maybe this is the thirst that the Psalmist writes
about when he referred to how the deer desires water so my soul
desires You, my God.
In todays world there are so many distractions. We try to budget
our life financially. We schedule our life to the minute. We get
burned out because we are trying to balance EVERYTHING
equally. We cannot give 100% to anyone person or even family.
But God has promised that if we give Him EVERYTHING He will
ENERGIZE our life. This ENERGY comes because we have given
control to Him and we no longer have to worry about control. So
what are you waiting for? Why not try the 100% ENERGIZER
option in your life today.
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Theology A-Z
Prayer for the day

Dear God,
You. That is what Your death was all about. My life!
Amen
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Theology A-Z
Thought for day 6

I am often foolish in my
decisions and actions. I need a
friend who can see who I am
inside not outside.
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F is for FOOLISH which is what we are, compared to

the wisdom of God.
F is for FRIEND, which is the desire of God.
Have you ever said something and another person corrects you
with more or better information. You feel kind of FOOLISH for
speaking. This happens more than what we would like to admit.
Other times we do it and feel very smart. But in reality all the new
technology is really a pin head of knowledge to Gods wisdom.
But we should not confuse wisdom with knowledge. This is the
problem and key to our FOOLISHNESS. God knows a lot. But He
also knows how everything we do today will affect our future. He
also knows our past history and how much it affects our life today.
This understanding is wisdom.
But we are called to do FOOLISH things. Imagine the stories of
the Old Testament which were considered FOOLISH to the peers
of the Prophets and Apostles. There are so many of them. Can
you imagine speaking to a rock and having water come from it?
How about being in a pinch and stretching your arm out with a
stick and waters separate. Or the Ark which, when touched by
unholy hands, killed all who touched it. Or dipping in a dirty river
seven times and the leprosy you have going away.
All of these were considered FOOLISH by the leadership of their
times. In fact, some people still think that they are FOOLISH. They
are not real because science cannot prove it. But that is why as
Christians we are called to be FOOLISH.
The problem is that we act as FOOLS not wise. We are FOOLISH
not because of Gods wisdom and command but because we think
we are smart enough to do it ourselves. God wants more than just
a bunch of FOOLS being FOOLISH. He has called us to be His
children.
As a FATHER it is an honour to have your childrens respect. It is
also a goal of mine to be their best FRIEND. The role of each of
these is different. A parent has the responsibility to nurture the
nature of the child. A FRIEND is often the confident of the child. It
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has a different respect value. The parent disciplines the child
because of their responsibility. A FRIEND is the comforter and
guide often. A place where the secrets of the heart are placed. A
place to think and get feedback.
God wants to be in the role of FATHER and FRIEND. He wants our
secrets, because He already knows them. He wants us to give Him
our confidences because He never tells anyone. Remember He
forgives sins and forgets forever. To make God our FRIEND we
must desire Him, for when we desire to be with Him our
confidence in Him will grow.
What about you today? Are you a child of God? Is God your
closest FRIEND or like a parent, someone to whom you run when
you need some cash or a trip to the doctor? God really wants to
be your FRIEND, but first you need to be His child so He can
guide, and nurture His nature in you.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I need a friend today. My foolishness gets in the way of so
many things. Jesus, be my friend and walk beside me. Whisper
in my ear when I need wisdom. Lead me out of my foolishness
to wisdom and integrity.
Amen
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Thought for day 7

A ram was the sacrifice and a
sheep the gift. When something
has got your goat, let God turn
it into a blessing as His gift to
you.
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G is for GIFTS, which we are given by the God in

whom we trust.
G is for GOATS which we all are now and again.
Have you ever been given a GIFT for only you? Did you know that
person? Was it important to you to have that GIFT?
These are questions that seem so silly to answer. Maybe they are
even considered stupid by some, but they are important in
Theology. Let us consider some ideas related to these questions.
The first is that most GIFTS are given to one person. Sometimes
there are GIFTS for Charities which are more social events. Others
are given to us but should be available to the community at large.
This is a much more Western Indian idea of GIFT. A GIFT is a
responsibility of one person but available to the community. The
other idea is that one person gives something to you for your
benefit or need. We do not always know the person who gave it to
us. Possibly we may know the name. I remember when I got
Married, we were given almost 200 little glasses. They were green
and blue but really useless. We had two of many items which also
was not useful.
We think that God is the same. We know He is different but it is
natural to think that God gives GIFTS like this. The Bible says that
God gave GIFTS to the Church so we can assume this. The GIFTS
are people like you and me who have individual GIFTS. The one
GIFT that is called the Promised GIFT is the Holy Spirit. This GIFT
is the seal of our salvation. So God gives each of us GIFTS that
will give us power, strength, and confidence. We are naturally
good at things because we are made in the image of God, but our
GIFT from God will is individual. God never takes it away and it
never breaks. It can become powerless through constant ignoring
of Gods commands.
God is smart and knows us better than we know ourselves. When
He gives us a GIFT He sees both our character and our future. We
often search for that GIFT we have so hard we lose focus. Like
losing a GIFT and having that person come over for dinner. Then
we get tired and anxious when we do not need to.
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G is also for GOATS. GOATS are really stubborn and enjoy doing
their own thing. Sheep on the other hand wander around getting
lost because they do not pay attention. We are like GOATS often.
God has given us GIFTS and we do not use them because we
think that we are ok without them. We butt heads with our
neighbours just to have some fun and show them that we are
better than they are.
GOATS are cute and fun to watch. GIFTS are nice to get. But what
do you do with your GIFTS? Most often we put them on a shelf
and forget where they are. Gods GIFTS are for a purpose. The
Holy Spirit is a GIFT which seals our power. But we, as GOATS,
think we dont need Him. The other GIFTS we, like GOATS, argue
about how many there are and which ones we need. Lets just use
them with the power of the Holy Spirit. They are pure and
empowering. What else could we ask for?
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
So many things get my goat and give me stress. Take these
small silly things and turn them into blessing and gifts to those
I meet today.
Amen
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Thought for day 8

To be holy is hard. It requires
bare-naked honesty. Only God
has the eyes to see our
nakedness and how hard it is.
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H is for HOLY, which is what we should be to be

heard by God.
H is for HARD which our hearts get after so much
pain.
HOLINESS is a HARD thing to define. In theology HOLINESS is a
character of God. HOLY is what we should be every day. How can
we achieve something when we are not even close to what God
can be?
HOLINESS seems so HARD to find in todays world. We are so
worried about our image, our job, our almost everything. We try
to live a HOLY life and fall so far short. This is the difference
between the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament
we can find that God seemed very HARD. He demanded so much
to get to the point of HOLY. It was because being HOLY was the
key to their security in time of war.
We sing, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY but we do not desire to be HOLY.
We see HOLINESS as a set of rules and regulations that is
imposed. We try to attain or achieve a standard that is impossible.
Even the Bible says it is impossible. We cannot do it by ourselves.
Only God can make us HOLY and He does this with the blood of
Jesus.
We can love God with everything. We can give everything to God,
but if we are not HOLY, we will struggle. We struggle because we
do not have the power to be HOLY. We become HARD in our
hearts.
H is for HARD because it is our Human nature. It is also because
HARDNESS is the result of pain and suffering. Just like a callous
that builds up to protect the sore spots, we get HARD to protect
our hearts. We are really fragile emotional Humans and HOLINESS
is all about our Humanness.
We have a HARD time seeing ourselves as weak people. We like to
see ourselves as strong. We want to be equal with God, just like
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Lucifer wanted to in the beginning. So H is also about our
creation as Humans. We are created in the image of God but we
have a flaw which limits our HOLINESS achievement.
We have a desire to be with God. We have a desire to have a
relationship with God. Without HOLINESS we are left only with
desire. Fulfillment is always ahead of us. We work HARD and our
hearts get greedy from HARDNESS.
God has a desire to be with us. God has a desire to have a
relationship with us. But He cannot because of our lack of
HOLINESS. There is only one solution and that is the blood of
Christ. Jesus was and is a gift. It is His blood and only His blood
that can make us HOLY. Are you still searching or have you
accepted this gift of HOLINESS?
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I want to be holy, but I hate to be so honest. Honesty scares
people. I choose to he holy in Your eyes God, because Your
eyes are the only ones that matter.
Amen
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Thought for day 9

Inquisitiveness is not a bad
thing. It is how we gain insight
into who God is and how he
interacts with His creation,
US.
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I is for INSIGHT into our lives because God alone

knows the future.
I is for INQUISITIVE for those things which draw us
away from God.
In Theology we understand that we are made by God. I dont
know about you but if you have ever made anything you find that
you have an intimate relationship with it. You know how it works
and can fix it better and faster than anyone else.
This intimacy gives the maker INSIGHT into His creation that
others may not have. INSIGHT means literally, to see inside. God
knows us better than we know ourselves. Isnt that great? But we
often think that God is unjust. God disciplines us without just
cause. After all we are just sinners saved by grace. What a poor
argument.
INJUSTICES in the world are not caused by God. They are caused
because we cannot see into the future. We cannot see the inner
person of other people. Remember we have a choice in life. God
has a master plan for every person He has created. God has also
given us a free will to choose His plan over others.
I have had many people over the years who wanted to sell me Life
Insurance. Each would tell me that their plan was the better one.
Today we have to make the same choice. We choose Churches
that way. The one with the better plan. The one with the better
program. The one that meets our needs the best. But do we ever
think about Gods plan? If He has INSIGHT into all of our secrets,
our failures, and our fears wont He have the best plan?
I is also for INQUISITIVE. Remember the story about Curious
George, the monkey? He was so curious about everything. Just
like a child who is learning everything about his world. In scripture
Paul writes to one of his churches that, (paraphrase) I cant write
to you the real and whole truth because you are too immature to
understand or realise the path you are going on is wrong. Most
often we find ourselves in this same situation. We are so
INQUISITIVE that we are drawn away from our relationship with
God.
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INQUISITIVE is not always a bad thing. We are called to test the
spirit of new teachers and leaders in our Church and community.
INQUISITIVE is also to inquire about things. We need to inquire
and test to see what is true. There is a lot of gossip in the Church
today. It ruins many good people and the world around runs away
from the Church. The love and freedom to share anything deeper
is ruined by this fear. By making an INQUIRY we ask people to
open their heart to us. But are we mature enough to see the truth?
Have we bought into the plan of God so we can have INSIGHT
and give good counsel?
These last two questions are very important in understanding
INQUISITIVE and INSIGHT. Many people fell that there are many
INJUSTICES made to innocent people. God knows the whole truth
while we know only the surface truth. We need to be more
INQUISITIVE about God and who He is as a priority. Then we can
see the world differently than the world around us. Seeing the
world through the eyes of God will give us deeper INSIGHT to
what is going on in the spiritual world around us.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am an inquisitive creature. I want to explore all the things
you create. This part of my nature gets me into trouble at
times. Help me to use this natural part of me to gain insgith
into who You are.
Amen
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Thought for day 10

Jesus was a hero to some and
villain to others. Judas thought
money would save the day
only to find that it solved
nothing.
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J is for Jesus whose blood we need for our cleansing.

J is for Judas who like us betrayed his own for a few
pennies of fame.
Two opposites that were in the same boat. The truth and the
traitor making choices, working together. There are many who
want to be Jesus. In fact the Bible says we should model our lives
after Him. Many people want the power that Jesus had. It is so
easy when you can do miracles when you want. It seems so easy
to be at the center of attention everywhere you go.
These ideals are an illusion. Just ask the many movie and music
stars. It is hard to have any privacy to do what you want, to say
what you want without the cameras popping up everywhere. To
be like Jesus means that we need to have a relationship with God.
We must have a relationship that is entirely focussed on doing
what He wants not us.
That is the secret of Jesus life. The many who followed and
performed a miracle here and there died with a star of fame but
with no life to give. The charisma of a few is often mired in greed
and power. They are driven by the rush of excitement and energy
that popularity gives, only to suck the life out of their followers
while living high on the hog.
For some it is a matter of being friendly users, and for others user
friendly. But Jesus was neither. Jesus never let people use Him
and He never used people. He was up front with His purpose and
His motives. He was here to show the world the right relationship
with His Father, and the power, peace, and confidence a person
can have if they focus on it.
Judas on the other had was more of a con man. He was in this
relationship for the power. He held the bag of money which gave
him a sense of power. He was close to a great man. A part of the
inner circle of friends. He was not committed to the cause or the
person. He was in this for the position. He was the ultimate traitor.
He did not betray Jesus. He betrayed himself. What he thought he
had gained he lost. He had gained the money but lost what he
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had cherished the most, the respect and integrity of those around
him. He gained in the sight of man but was rejected by God.
Today we are faced with the same questions. Are we in this, our
Christian life, for the money? Or are we in it for the fame? The
answer seems easy to say but is it the truth? There are many who
want to be like Jesus and are like Judas. We want to be close but
we dont want to commit to the cause fully. We do all the things
we should just like Judas, waiting for the moment when we can
profit from it.
In the name of religion many people do things. In Islam and other
religions the demands are high. The leaders use their people to
promote themselves and their cause. The result is death and
destruction both personally and as a community. Christians usually
do not like these demanding committed people. That is because
the true Jesus never coerced or demanded from His followers. He
just promised that they could have the same power, peace, and
confidence, if they copied His attitudes to the world around
Him ,and viewed the world and its relationship with His Father the
same way. He gave freedom of choice to all. The choices we make
give us either life through Jesus, or death like Jesus.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am often like Judas. I want an easy way to have influence and
popularity. To have money seems like the answer to all my
problems. In reality it is only You, Jesus, who can satisfy the
longings and emptiness of my heart.
Amen
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Thought for day 11

To be a kin of a King should
bring you respect. When you
are kin to The King of Kings
you can expect ridicule. One is
for a moment, the other is
forever.
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K is for King which is what Jesus is now and was

before the beginning of time.
K is for Kin which we are as part of the true Church.
Kings and Queens are special people. Many hold these positions
because it is passed down to them because of family. They are
sometimes good and other times bad. When we think of the King
of Kings we think of the ultimate Person. The person to whom all
kings are subject to. This is interesting because if you ask a king
who he is subject to, you may find that the person takes offense
to the question. They have the position of king and his people are
his subjects. What they do does not affect him but what he does
affects them. This seems like a one way relationship of power, and
it is.
That is the way we view God often. A King whose actions affect us
and our actions do not affect Him. He is the King of Kings. He is
the creator of all things, even you and me. He controls everything
and has a plan for everything.
God the Father is the King of Kings and is Son Jesus is Lord of
Lords. Of course we must understand that the King has the power
over life and death. Jesus is living today. There are many who
think they are equal with Jesus. They promise and do things that
Jesus did. Even in the Bible we find that the magicians of the
Pharaoh in Egypt could do the same things that Moses did. The
one thing that no one else can do is to choose death and life. Only
the creator of life can do that. That is God.
If we choose to see Jesus as the Son of God, a normal son, he
would be limited to things physical. He would be the great
illusionist. As the Son of God the greatest and most powerful King
of Kings He has the same power available to Him.
Now imagine that you can also be in the same royal family. We
called that kinship. When we are kin we have equal rights in the
family. To be kin the Jews had to be circumcised. This was how
they showed they were different from those outside. Today we
sometimes think that being a member of a church makes us kin.
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It makes us member of a church but not a part of the kinship with
Christ.
We think that by doing things we show our kinship, similar to the
circumcision of the Jews. This also falls short of the kinship.
Kinship is also about responsibility. We are responsible for our
choices. As a part of the royal family what we do affects not only
our family and our social group but the world. Think for a moment
about the British Royal Family. Everything they do is on the news,
yet your neighbour is never there unless he does something very
heroic.
Being kin means that we need to be more responsible. It is a
higher calling than being the neighbour next door. We are called
to be more mature because we have the power of the King of
Kings available to us. The question then is, Why is there so little
power in the Christian community? Is it because we do not view
ourselves as kin, or is it that we do not view God as the King of
our family? Do we treat our God like a normal King, always being
challenged by others, or is He the true King of ALL Kings? When
we have a right view of king and kin we will find ourselves
challenged to change.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am a kin to the King of Kings. I want to have the respect an
heir should have. God, help me to realize that respect and
integrity may be hard to have here, but the true goal is to have
life forever, respecting and worshipping you.
Amen
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Thought for day 12

Lambs are cute and innocent. It
was a Lamb that gave light to
the world.
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L is for Lamb which is led to the slaughter.

L is for Light which shows all of our failures.
Lamb is a common theme in theology. Jesus is said to be the
lamb led to the slaughter. This idea of Jesus being helpless
when He is God can give us a lot of stress. Since good theology
points must be found in all parts of the Bible, and not just one
part, we must look at the Old Testament. In the Old Testament
we find that the lamb was the preferred sacrifice. But it was not
just any lamb it was the first born, plus having no spot or
problem, both inward and outward.
The idea of lamb is combined in the Old Testament with the
sacrifice. Sacrifice implies that blood was going to be shed.
Therefore, the idea of lamb was not just a cuddly warm fuzzy
feeling but a commitment.
Lamb implies that thee is an innocence of sin. If you remember
the first acts of creation recorded in the Bible, Adam and Eve who
were created pure, were innocent of sin. The idea of an innocent
animal being sacrificed makes God look like an ogre. We must
remember that God is pure. God had to punish sin or make a way
for sin to be absolved so He could be more active in the lives of
His creation.
Blood was the way to do this. A demonstration of the power of
this blood was when Israel was freed from Egypt. The blood was
the protection from the Angel of Death. Lamb-Blood-Protection
from death are all themes that go together and you cannot
separate them. Death is not something we like to think about,
neither is blood. But to free ourselves from the grip of death we
must have a lamb and blood.
Jesus is the Lamb and it is His blood that saves us from Eternal
death. That is simple. We must also consider the Light that Jesus
is as well. Because He had NEVER sinned and His BLOOD protects
us from death, He shines His light into our life. This light is so
strong that it can reveal all the secrets in our lives. There are no
shadows or covers. He doesnt have to search hard. His light
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reveals how bad we really are. His BLOOD on the other hand
when sprinkled on the revealed secrets seals them from the sight
of God and our fear.
Our light can be dimmed many times by tiredness, fear, and stress.
With Jesus blood covering our sin we can have confidence that
God will not condemn us to die but protect us, just as He did with
Israel many years ago.
You do not need a lamb today for a sacrifice. Jesus was the Lamb.
He was accused and died for your sin. It was His life which was
perfect in every way which we need to embrace and accept as the
sacrifice. We need His light to shine in our lives so that we can
access the power of God and have the peace which comes from
the purity and openness with Him.
Choose today to accept this sacrifice. Choose today to be
protected from the Angel of Death and have Eternal life.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I feel like a lamb led to a slaughter because of my faith. Take
these feelings and make them be a light to who I truly am, so
You can make my life shine to the world around me.
Amen
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Thought for day 13

Memories can be nightmares
or what makes the dull day
shine. Filling our mind with
good memories will help us
stay positive.
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M is for Mind which is what we must guard.

M is for Memories which we cherish or destroy.
M is also for man. God made man in His own image. That means
that God made man with a mind. What good would a God without
a mind be? Silly question but it is something that we never think
too seriously about. If we have a mind then we have a memory.
Imagine a computer without a memory. It used to be that way
almost, but you always needed a memory, at least a small one.
The mind is such a complex organ. It holds the center of all of our
body. There is no action without it but you can still live for awhile
even if your brain is dead. The mind can be cut into pieces so that
we can fix some problems. We do that with God sometimes. We
pray for the mind of God and put our thinking into it. Our mind is
so small that though it is impossible we see what we call the mind
of God.
We have a limited capacity just like a computer. Imagine some of
the biggest computers. They are not able to hold all the
information in any one of them. But, there is just one God. In
theology there is some talk about second Adams and Christs,
and sometimes even a third Adam. Do not believe these people
much. There is only one God who is the Christ and who is the Holy
Spirit. To separate these three is to separate the mind of God into
three. This denies the idea of one God and will lead us into the
wrong idea of who God is.
M is for memories, even the ones we want to forget. We never
seem to forget them even if we want to. They just get covered
with other things, like stuff in our storage room. The
difference with God is that He eliminates His memory after we
confess it to Him. He said the memory was as far as the East is
from the West. It will never haunt Him. He will never remember or
hold us in the memory like we do.
The memories in our mind are important. The Apostle Paul in
Ephesians tells us to protect our mind. We have some control of
what we do many times. We can control what we see and how we
fuel desire. These are the memories we choose to hold in our
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mind. If we put them to the side and cover them they will come
back and haunt us. If they are memories that we give to God so
He can take them away from us and cover them with His blood,
we can be sure that anything that will harm us from them will
never bother us again.
There are no mindless memories. Memories fill our mind. It is
what we fill our mind of that pushes out the bad memories. They
are still there but the power of them is lessened. Covering them is
never a good option. Dealing with them, and the fear and negative
feelings towards others, takes a lot of energy. On the other hand,
praising and worshiping God energizes us.
Our mind and our memories need to be in tune with the mind of
God. If we have the mind of God we see the world differently and
we can have peace of mind. If we take control of our memories
we find ourselves cherishing the ones that focus on a right view of
God versus the stress of finding they are never far from bothering
us.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
You. That is what Your death was all about, my life.
Amen
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Thought for day 14

Night can be scary to a person
in a new life. Good decisions
and relationships can make the
night short and the new life full
of Sonshine.
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N is for the New life which is what we are promised.

N is for Night which is forever if we make the wrong
decision.
Have you ever wanted a new life? Many people struggle day to
day even minute to minute because of money or lack of things.
This has been an issue from the beginning of Creation. Satan
enticed Eve with the desire to have more.
As Christians we claim to offer a new life to those who will
respond. But, what does this mean? It should mean better than
what we have now. The problem is that this new life is just a
heavier burden than before. So where is the new life? Is it just a
new set of rules for living?
For many people this is just what it is. They hang on to the new
ideas that are given to them. It is new, so they are trying to fit
into this new culture we often call Church. But this is not what
Christ taught his disciples. He did not want them to be more
accepted or new followers to just have a new set of rules. This is
because if we could achieve a set of rules we could or would
become proud. Then we would have broken the rule.
New life means much more than a set of rules. It is a new reason
to live. It is seeing the world around us with new eyes. It is seeing
what we have, our job, family, future, in a new light. It is having
new hope and energy to see everything good or bad from the
philosophy and idea that God has made it from design.
But we search for more all the time and never experience the new
life as God intended. Christ told His disciples to rest in Him. When
we experience our new life we need to learn one basic thing. That
is to rest in the control of God. This is the hardest to do because
we feel insecure when we are not in control.
But what will happen if we make the decision not to have this new
life? It results in a sense of happiness and fulfillment for a time.
That is why so many people make the decision after a serious
accident or life and death moment.
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There is a lot of fear today because we do not know the future.
For many people it looks so black. It is like our flashlight is not so
bright. We are insecure because we cannot see around us. We do
not need to be scared of the night. There is no need to fear
because if we have chosen the new life we also have all the angels
of heaven at our side.
Jesus said that He would be beside us all the time. When we
choose to rest in His power we have confidence when others run
away. We have peace when others have insecurity. We have a
light which lights up the way so we do not need to stumble. The
new life that is offered is a life that eliminates the darkness around
us.
What is your choice today? Will it be to obey a different set of
rules only or to have a new life in Christ? Will it be to search for
the next high because we are scared of the night?
Choose life in Christ today and start resting in His security, peace,
and confidence.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
There are always changes in my life. New is something I face
almost everyday. Help me God to face the night with
confidence knowing that in everything new You are there.
Amen
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Thought for day 15

Openness of our like will often
bring criticism. Often there are
other choices, we could
choose, to help us stay
balanced.
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O is for Open to the world if they will choose it.

O is for Other choices we have.
If only the world would open their eyes to see the truth. This was
and is the cry of Christ from the beginning. Jesus has so much to
offer. Think of the peace we could have if greed and selfishness
was not a part of our lives. A utopian idea I know but that is why
O is so important.
There is a lot of criticism about religion being closed minded about
homosexuality and other perversions of truth. The fight for
acceptance balanced with truth digs deep into the culture and
personal grievances. But the honest truth is that we fight for our
own truth not Christs truth.
To be open minded is what Christ demonstrated to us. He was not
partial to any person. He did not deny a relationship to even the
worst. He even had Judas a thief as a disciple. He did this because
he knew the struggle we all have to give up our desire for His.
Even knowing that He did not deny the relationship of Judas
knowing that he would betray the cause for a few pieces of silver.
To be of open mind does not mean that we give up our principles
to compromise with another. That would be foolish, because then
we would weaken those pillars of strength that we have. Rather
we need to consider the open mind to associate with those who
may differ.
In the idea of openness we find the Old Testament a hard book. It
seems so arbitrary and demanding. It comes from a God who
cannot, even for a moment, consider anything that has an
impurity. But we are made in the image of God, so therefore we
must be accepting of all every person ideals. This is wrong
thinking. Nowhere in the Bible is there a compromise in the one
key area. That is to get to heaven or experience a continuing
relationship with Him. There is never a compromise in the promise
of peace and happiness is we let God reign in our lives.
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O is also for other choices. We can be open-minded and we can
make wrong choices. We can follow those others who deny the
truth of Christ, preferring to pursue our own goals driven by a
desire for acceptance or greed. We can deny the views of others
and deny them a relationship which God so wants, so they too can
have the Eternal Life and peace He has promised. People with
HIV/AIDS, homosexuals, criminals, drug abusers, and more silent
ones have been ignored. We want to compromise the principles
and trust to build our kingdom. They too need Jesus and we are
all sinners and unable to achieve the level of dedication to achieve
the Promise. But, the Law of God never changes. The rules of the
game never change.
The question for us today is then, Why do we prefer compromise
to truth?
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
almost every day. Help me God to face the night with
Amen
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Thought for day 16

Striving to be perfect is
laudable, though achieving it is
impossible. Perfection,
however unachievable makes
the imperfect the more
precious.
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P is for Perfect in Gods sight, which we are if we

choose right.
P is for Precious, which we all are to someone even if
we do not feel it.
God is perfect. A simple theological statement, which is a basic
belief of all religious people. Many people want to be perfect. They
are tired of the life they are living and perfection is what they
think is the answer. Many Christians work hard to achieve
perfection. They deny themselves pleasures so they can say they
obeyed every rule that God has set out.
The problem is that all the work and dedication in the world will
not get us any closer to this goal of perfection. But there is a way
out. If we want to communicate with God as children do to their
own father we need to be perfect, because God is perfect. God
cannot communicate directly with anything that is not totally
perfect. That is why Jesus had to come and die. It is Jesus blood
that allows us to communicate with God.
Perfection is therefore something that we can have but not
achieve. That is important because if we achieve it we have
worked for it. If we can have it as a gift it is free. Perfection for
free is often what is taught. In one sense that is true because that
what a gift is. But to have the power that this perfection gives us
is costly. It demands that we realign our thinking to Gods way of
thinking. We must give control of everything in our life to God.
That is the price of this perfection.
This cost is also the most precious of perfection. Imagine a perfect
Father taking care of His children. A Father who has all power and
all knowledge to care for them. To have this perfection is to put
your life into a person who has only your desires in His heart. He
is the Person who will empower you to achieve the most and best
that you can be.
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Can there be anything more exciting that being under the control
of someone who sees us perfectly? Perfection is empowering and
that is what we really want. We want the power and the passion
to live life to its fullest. We want to feel like we are important to
someone. We want to relax and have less stress.
That is why Precious is so important. When we are Precious to
God we find that He is gentle and protective. When we are not
obedient we are no less Precious than we were before. He, God
made us in His own image. He is concerned, not with His image
but with His creation.
We are worried about our image more than our relationship with
God. We are worried about Gods image and we want to protect
God. We have tried to achieve something we cannot ever hope of
achieving. Our hard work has taken away the preciousness of our
relationship, which has taken away our power to achieve in our life.
Perfection is Precious. It is the desire of most of us. It is also
achievable if we accept it as a gift and not work so hard to achieve
it, but it is not free. It does cost you control of your life, allowing
you to have less stress and experience how Precious you are to
God.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I strive to be perfect. When my work is not perfect people
criticize me. That hurts, but it is a challenge to be better. Help
to cherish the preciousness of perfection through my
relationship with You, God.
Amen
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Thought for day 17

A quiet place is hard to find in
life. I want to live a life of peace
and tranquility, not just a
quaint show.
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Q is for QUIET which is what our heart can be if we

relax in God.
Q is for QUAINT which is what we must be careful
not to become.
Quiet and quietness are themes in the Bible. It is a result of being
in a position of calmness. A place where there is no fear. This idea
can be compared with peace.
Quiet is an opposite of noise versus peace and confusion. We
search for peace in our confusion of life and often do not find it.
But quietness is not a state of being like this. Rather quiet is an
outer element. When there is quiet there is no storm, or the eye
of the storm. If you are in the eye of the storm you experience
calmness.
Quiet is a lack of noise. When there is no noise there is no
movement. It is when things move that we have noise. In reality
we are often scared of quiet. We are scared because we become
more tuned to each small noise. Each noise seems to be magnified
to a crescendo of noise. Therefore, we prefer some noise so we
are not so sensitive.
Quaint is somewhat different. As quiet is a lack of noise, quaint is
an outside show. It is something that looks quiet but hides the
truth. We often are in this position. We dont like to show the truth.
We prefer to be seen as quiet but hold the confusion of our soul
search. We invite people to participate in our life but hide our real
selves.
Quaint is often in reference to culture in the past. We live in a
world of high speed change. Our life gets faster and we can get
caught up in the movement. God offers us a place of quietness. It
is not just an outside image while the frustration builds inside of
us.
Rather God offers us a place of quietness that helps us feel secure.
With this feeling of security we can be confident. With this
confidence we can feel fulfilled as a person. With this fulfilment we
can stand in the storms around us and reach out to others.
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In theology we claim that God offers this place of quietness to all
of His creation. We can only experience this by becoming a
Christian. This is the question that has to be asked. If this
quietness promised is so attractive why dont people experience it?
Is this just an illusion in Christianity?
The answer is, No! it is not an illusion. It does come at a cost.
God, who is the protector, has promised this but it has to be a
choice. The choice is to leave all our cares and stress at the
entrance of the place of quietness. Let God take care of them and
focus on rejuvenation, or reenergizing our life. From this point we
are invited to stay. We can see our life with more clarity and we
can see our world more as God sees it.
When we not only see, but experience the power of God in this
place we will never want to leave. Our desires will become closer
to the desires of God the longer we stay in the quietness of His
promises.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
The world around me is so demanding, there is not place for
quietness. Help me to find that quiet spirit you off in my insane
schedule. You alone can bring those quaint wanderings of mine
to the place of renewal and strength.
Amen
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Thought for day 18

I cannot control people, but I
can control my reactions to
real situations.
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R is for Real which God is truly all about.

R is for Reaction, which is what we do when
confronted with our inadequacy.
Is God real? This is a good question. Most people would say yes.
The problem is that we would seem to define God so differently.
For some, God is close, and others God is disconnected from His
creation.
The God that I am talking about and refer to is a Person who
understands our reality. He is real and His promises are real. We
search for real relationships. Relationships that we can trust and
feel safe with. Our real world is in confusion. Our reality causes us
stress.
In reality we are very insecure people. We hold on to things that
have only limited value. It is not that they arent important to
people, but they are not that important to God.
So the question then becomes, What is Gods reality. God sees
the world and us
differently than we do. We see people as
coloured or not. We see people as beautiful or ugly. We see
people as for our belief system or not. God see His creation as
only two different people. There are those who believe or who
do not believe. There are those who have the seal of the Holy
Spirit or those who do not.
In Gods reality there are people of promise, and there are those
who are not. That is the only thing in Gods mind. There are
perfect and imperfect, and He can only communicate directly with
perfect people.
This seems a bit harsh, but there is no grey area in Gods mind.
Words like maybe and are not in His vocabulary. The word But is
there. That is because He always gives us a choice. We cannot
blame God for something we chose to do and suffer for.
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This does not mean that God created suffering as a harsh
punishment. Rather suffering a choice and consequence that we
made. At the same time He never promised life would be rosy and
sweet all the time. We are human and we live with humans. We
make choices that are real to our situation as we see it. God
makes decisions based on His eternal vision of our lives. His reality
has a longer view of reality.
Our reactions to what we face in life are based on a short view.
Our reaction to God can be quite negative because we lack
foresight and He sees the whole of our future. Reactions can hurt
us or build us up. Reactions can drive ourselves away from God
and other things that give us short term satisfaction.
We can control our reactions. But, other people also react to us.
Their reactions are not in our control. Often we get a lot of stress
because of others reactions. We need to concentrate on our
reactions and let the others go. You do not always make a lot of
friends but you do have less stress. With less stress you can focus
on your relationship with God.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
Real life brings real reactions. I do not always react well. Help
me God to not try to change other peoples minds, but to
change my reactions to their criticisms in real situations.
Amen
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Thought for day 19

Security in life is what we strive
for most. When we are secure
we do not need salvation.
When we have salvation we
have the ultimate in eternal
security.
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S is for Salvation which is offered to all of us

to save us from our depravity.
S is Security which is what we all need for our
stability.
Salvation is about being in a pinch. Being in a position where we
cant find a way out. The Bible says it is harder for a rich man to
get into heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It
is because a rich man is not often to be found in the position of
need. But they do have security.
Remember the story of Nicodemus. He was a rich man and had
this question. There had to be a way to get this other than pure
need. But it isnt true. Salvation is about understanding our need.
There are no works, absolutions, or payments to Church needed
for Gods salvation. There is no Church or religion that can
guarantee salvation. There is no army that can guarantee your
security.
Salvation and Security are inseparable. We cry out for Salvation
because we lack Security. When we find a Person to give us that
Salvation we feel Secure in their presence.
What do we do when we get saved? What we do when we are
saved is very important to our future. Often we are saved we have
a sweet memory. But, we dont follow the person who saved us.
We chalk it up to experience and forget the lesson of how we got
into the problem the first time.
Some will argue that we need to live a life of riches and health.
God does want us to be prosperous and healthy. The problem is
that we, the people, do not live balanced lives which are
dependent on Him. He is the source and guarantor of our
Salvation.
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As the Guarantor of our Salvation, God gives us the peace that we

can only have when we have security. The happiest people on
Earth are those who are secure. They are people of power. They
have power, not because they have money, but because they
have the wisdom beyond the wisdom of normal man. They have
security that others want.
Salvation is attractive. But, it is only attractive if we change our
lives after we have been saved from the problem that caused our
need. Our need comes from the sin we have been given from
Adam. Our weakness is being finite. We need the security of
something or someone which is infinite. Infinite in every way.
There is no security if there is not infiniteness. It is not a better or
best. It is ultimate or nothing. If you put your faith in the Salvation
of less than the ultimate you will one day find a stronger, bigger,
or larger, opponent. There is no Security in something that is best
only today. There is no Security in something that changes with
each generation or culture.
The message of Salvation is not different for one than the other.
The Salvation is offered to all. The Security we have is because
the Person who offers it is the ultimate in everything. He is
infinite. He never changes from one day or another. He never gets
sick or depressed, but He does get angry and He does punish, He
is demanding of purity which we can only get from accepting
Salvation.
Have you accepted the Salvation and Security God offers? If you
have questions email me from the front of this homepage.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I feel insecure in my job. So many things can go wrong. This
gives me a lot of stress. Help to realize that Your salvation is
the only security I need for both today and my future.
Amen
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Theology A-Z
Thought for day 20

If I could hide all my secrets in
a trunk I would have such a big
one. The truth is that I do not
need to keep all those secrets. I
can give them to God and the
trunk can become a small bag.
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T is for Truth for it is the truth about God that

will set us free.
T is for Trunks we carry with us seemingly
forever.
Truth is something we all want. Without it thee is not trust. People
tell me all the time to tell them the truth. Sometimes they do not
really want the truth, they just want a nice thought because the
real truth would be too painful.
Jesus said the truth will set us free. He never said that telling the
truth was without consequence, or that it was painless. We forget
about that in Theology and Doctrine. We focus so much on what is
truth to us, our history of belief, our heritage, that we miss the
truth.
The truth will set us free but are we willing to pay for it? There is
no freedom that has come easy for any one person, tribe, or
cause. That is why we have so many wars and fights. But do not
confuse freedom with truth. When we fight for truth we get
freedom from the bondage of our insecurities. We get freedom to
see the world as God sees it.
Truth has the best eyes you have. When you have found someone
who tells you the truth without bias you will trust them. This is the
problem today. There is no trust in the Church, or religious
leaders. There is no trust in politicians. There is no trust in your
family or your neighbour.
God has never pinched the truth. He has always told it straight.
His love for us demands that thee is nothing but the whole truth.
The truth is that we are inadequate to achieve His standard. The
truth is that He cannot consider to even look at anything that is
imperfect.
The truth is that we carry a lot of stuff around that we do not
need to. We stuff we carry around is like stuffing a large suitcase
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or trunk and keeping it with us wherever we go. The dirty shirts
we stuff in the trunk from bad relationships or hurt feelings. The
truth is that we like to open the box and think about what made
the shirt dirty. We do not like the smell but then if we threw them
out we would have to swallow our pride a bit and admit that
maybe we were wrong.
The truth is that we are scared of throwing out the trunk of junk.
We would have to replace it with something. Maybe it came from
our grandfather or grandmother. It is an heirloom full of feuds and
twisted truths. We would do our ancestors a disservice to throw
them out. Ahhh, the memories.
The truth is that if we keep the trunk and fill it with lovely things
our house will be brighter. We can hold our head high and our
friends will admire the trunk of our forefathers. What is in the
trunk and the freshness fills the room and our lives.
Have you looked in your trunk lately? What is in there that is
keeping Gods love from filling it? God cannot enter a trunk of old
dirty things. The truth is that He has given us a chance, not only
to cleanse it, but to fill it with goodness. Jesus blood is what
cleanses even the dirtiest stain and restores the trunk to its
original beauty and fragrance if we would only accept the truth
that God has shown and told us.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
No one likes the truth, not even me. The truth is that I am
scared someone will look into my trunk of dirty laundry. They
will discover who I really am. Help me to give You my trunk
full of stuff so I can live out Your truth.
Amen
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Theology A-Z
Thought for day 21

The umbilical cord we need is
not always understood by
those outside of our group. We
need to be more understanding
of those around us who are not
yet free.
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U is for Understanding which is what God has

because He knows everything.
U is for Umbilical cord which links us to our
mothers and our heritage.
To be understood is important to all of us. It is important for a
healthy relationship. Without understanding there is just
frustration and often withdrawal. This is what we tell people when
they are hurting or down, Go to God, He will understand you.
This is great but does it work? It would seem that it is a hit and
miss. Sometimes I feel that God does not understand. Sometimes
He is so distant and my world is out of control.
Because I grew up in the Church I know the arguments but I
rarely saw the reality. The reality is that if I have money, or if I
can be manipulated by the Church I am welcome to be a part of it.
Now that is not true of all Churches for sure. There are many good
ones, but I was asked to leave a Church, of whom a good friend
of mine was the Pastor, just because I asked too many questions.
As new Christians join the ranks of the Soldiers of the Cross, there
is great joy. Then the Solider falls and they seem to be fallen
forever. No one wants to know the truth or understand. The
healing of understanding, or the balm of forgiveness, is never
applied until the healing is finished. Jesus can say He understands
because of the things He went through in His short life on this
Earth. He was hailed as a King and then spat on by maybe the
same people. The expectation that came with the power of
miracles gave no human understanding.
God can understand because the people, the Nation, which He
chose and built up, rejected His overtures because they were
wanting what other people had and not His blessing. The people
rejected the system because it was too hard to follow. The denied
Him the right to bless them because they thought they were smart
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enough to do it themselves.
The Holy Spirit can understand because He lives inside every
Christian. He is the Seal of our confession and our future life. He
has to struggle with us, at the most intimate of moments, to
encourage but not intervene in our free thought. The Holy Spirit is
there in a moment of an utterance of the name of Jesus, but must
wait for us to make that decision.
God understands us to our most intimate of struggles because He
is there waiting for us to choose Him above all else. He has given
us the umbilical cord which is never broken. This cord is given to
us when we are conceived in the Image of God. It is the lifeline
that carries all the needs we will ever have.
Imagine you are tied to someone all your life. What a disastrous
thought. It is almost like a Siamese twin. The difference is that we
are linked differently. God goes where we go because He is
everywhere. We do not always want to go where God wants us to
go. We want to be free from this connection. We want to set our
own boundaries, and we can, but we cannot be totally free from
God until He sets us free. Then we are doomed to an eternity
without Him or the life we seek with Him.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I want to be connected with a strong cord, which can support
me. At the same time I need to cut my umbilical cord to all y
addictions. Help me God to cut these knowing that You do not
need a cored because I have your Spirit within me.
Amen
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Theology A-Z
Thought for day 22

Vessels were carried by
vassals. Let us carry one
anothers burdens not as
vassals but as sharers of a
common burden.
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V is for Vessels to carry Gods message to the

world.
V is for Vassal which enslaves us to our
Master.
Vessel. what a big word. It can be a small vase or a big ship. It is
just something we put something else into. In the old days, and
even today, in many countries people carry water or market goods
in large vessels. An envelope, which is a vessel of sorts, carries
the love from one heart to another.
In theology we consider ourselves, Christians, as vessels for Gods
message. We are just carriers. But that is really not the full extent
of what we do. As a Christian I also represent a relationship with
God. I am an ambassador to the world. But even this is not
enough.
Let us consider a little bit about the idea of vessel. If I am a vessel
I must be carried from one point, or I must have some value to
the owner. I do not own myself. I am owned by another. This is
probably the idea that is most valuable to understand in theology.
I am created and owned by God. I have value to God. I am used
by God.
The problem is that we do not like the owner. We want to be our
own and do our own thing. We do not like what is put inside of us.
We do not like the message. We think we have no purpose sitting
in the corner or on a shelf. But where do you put your special
things. If we have many special things there is no room and not
all are in the most prominent places.
A Vassal is a slave and the ideas go together. The vessel is about
an object that has value and a vassal is about the person who is
enslaved to the owner. A vassal has no rights and has a no
direction except that of the master.
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As vassals have a free mind but no freedom or control of our after

life. We like to think that we can choose, but in reality we choose
only which master we will serve. In theology there are two
masters, God and Satan. Both seemingly offer great things. Satan
often more instant and short term benefits, while God offers more
long term benefits. Satan focuses on making us #1, while God
makes Him #1. Satan offers happiness for the moment, while God
offers peace, contentment, and power, forever.
The choice of the vessel is none. A vessel is just an open nice
looking piece into which something is put. It has no choice in what
is put in it. It is moved by the owner. The vassal doesnt have a lot
of choices either. But the choice of being a servant is to serve with
joy or to serve with a bad attitude. A vassals choice is to look at
the benefits and choose the master they want to serve. We want
to choose God but we choose Satans short term benefits. We like
to feel like we are in control even if we are not.
Our stress comes because we struggle which master to serve.
When we commit to serving God ourselves only our stress will go
away. But when the storms of life come is our choice the one that
is long term or short term?
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am both a vessel and a vassal. I want to be a burden sharer
making the vessel light and the vassal equal. Help me God to
see that lording over others is not what you want.
Amen
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Thought for day 23

Waiting is so worrying. It
makes us nervous, seemingly
putting our life on hold. Since
the decisions are not in our
hands we should wait with
confidence not worry.
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W is for Waiting for you to respond to the

knocking on your hearts door.
W is for Worry which plagues our life and
takes away our power.
Have you ever waited for a long time, maybe in traffic or at a
doctors office? Waiting is hard for most of us. If the time is not
too long we are ok, but a long time we get anxious and stressed.
In Theology, the idea of waiting and patience is what God is all
about. In the beginning God waited for people to remember Him,
but they refused. We have the story of Noahs Ark then. God
chose a special people as a promise to Abram and waited again.
Again the people kept forgetting Him. God brought the country to
ruin and defeat after 40 years or more.
Jesus said that He is knocking on your hearts door. He has been
waiting, and will wait until you die. He never gives up and that is
what love is all about. He loved us, and wanted us to open the
door, so He sent His Son to die for us and make it easier to make
that decision.
Still we worry too much. We have so much to worry about. The
retirement funds we have stashed in the bank. We worry about
our grades if we are in school. We worry about our jobs. In
English many of us are worry warts.
Why worry when you can pray?, the favourite childrens song
goes. But prayer seems empty when there is no real relationship
with God. Why does God wait so long to answer? Why, if God is
all-powerful, does He not set things straight? We ask these
questions when we get ourselves into trouble. Why wait so long?
Wait and worry are the two words that reflect two ideals. Waiting
is Gods ideal for life. A life without worries and with many
blessings, in fact, unlimited blessings together with confidence and
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power to face the insecurities we have in our life everyday. Worry
is our ideal and real life view.
God is knocking and waiting for you to answer. You may be a
Christian. You may have already answered the knock but do not
have the power. That is because you have not changed your life
from worry to wait. You have not allowed God to take the worry
away from you.
God is still waiting for you to give Him your life and all your
worries. You and I need to worry less and enjoy Gods power
more. God is never late but we rarely are early or on time. It is
when we get together with Gods timeline that we lose worry and
do not see patience as a negative but a positive.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am impatient and hate waiting. I worry too much about things
that are out of my control. Help me to understand that You,
God, are always in control and will bring glory to yourself in
every situation. I need not to worry about anything when you
are my focus.
Amen
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Thought for day 24

Excitement comes when I am
exalted. It is but a moment and
fills my being with joy. It is
when I exalt others that
excitement lasts so much
longer.
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X is for eXcited which is what the angels get

when a new person is born.
X is for eXalted which is what we all want to
be and are in God.
Born again is a phrase used in Theology to describe the moment a
person becomes a Christian. At Christmas the Bible can be read in
Luke that the angels rejoiced when Jesus was born. The
shepherds saw a choir of angels but the wise men only saw a star.
When we get excited our attention focuses intensely. Our energy
goes up as our blood pressure goes up. We want to tell our
friends and shout to the world. Excitement is what new birth is all
about. But there is a problem. There is the honeymoon effect.
The excitement dulls and real life begins again. The job that was
boring seems twice as boring. Our dreams have changed, and
what we did with our friends is no longer exciting. We begin to
feel empty because in our new life there is a new person.
This new person needs to be filled with new things, new dreams
and desires which were different than before. There is a new
relationship that needs to be developed. Everything is brand new.
The blood of Jesus Christ has made you clean. So clean that there
is no blemish or sin, but do not be fooled sin is not far. In fact, the
moment of perfections is a fleeting moment indeed.
What God wants is to exalt us. That means that His desire is for us
to be more than we are without a relationship with Him. There is
only one key. The key is to exalt Him in our lives first. In all of our
excitement we forget to exalt Him and focus on ourselves. When
trouble comes we also forget to exalt Him. We have funny ideas of
who God is and what He wants from us. God really wants only one
thing from us. That is to be exalted, or to be the first in everything
in our lives.
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From the Old to the New Testament we can find these themes
running strong. Israel had a problem with exalting God at ALL
times. They got excited when there was victory, just as we get
excited when we struggle and see the light at the end. Many times
we find Israel, the chosen people of God, struggling with this idea
of making their God first.
The disciples had trouble with this after Jesus died. When Jesus
was with them they could see His power. When He died they were
insecure. The teachings of Paul and Peter reflect this struggle.
Exalting God to His position of owner of our lives will bring our
own exaltation to a high.
In our lives today we need to keep our excitement up. The only
way to do this is to exalt the one who gave it to us in the first
place. Have you lost your excitement? Are you trying to exalt
yourself or God? God is patient and will renew you whenever you
exalt Him.
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I love the feeling when I am exalted. I really need to exalt You
in every situation. It is when I exalt You that the excitement of
my life reaches new highs. Help me God to give you the glory
in everything so I can have a truly exciting life.
Amen
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Thought for day 25

Young and youth are what we
want to keep. When we focus
on God the youthfulness of a
continually fresh relationship
will keep us young.
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Y is for You the person who God is talking to.

Y is for Young which is our maturity level too
often.
You are important. We live in a world centered on me. In theology
this goes opposite to the Bibles teaching. If we are the center we
are in control. This creates problems for our argument. The
problem is when things go wrong it is always because usually it is
the other person who did not do it right. It is never us. We hate to
take any responsibility, unless of course we are caught redhanded.
Does this mean that we are not important if we are not in the
center, or in control? Of course not! We do not have to look far to
see that often it is the small seemingly insignificant things that are
the most important. There is a Buddhist teacher that taught that
you need to focus on moving just one person at a time, not the
whole. Theology does the same, and Jesus did the same, and God
did the same from the beginning. You are important.
Being God-centered means that God is in control. Jesus CEO, was
a popular book a few years ago. Many people read it but got
confused with the idea. They made poor decisions based on
traditional theology not a relationship with God. They were more
worried about their investment backers, while saying that God was
in control. Do you see the problem here? It is easy to say the God
is in control but it is hard to live it. It is easy to blame God for our
problems when we are the problem.
You are important. That is why salvation is for you. God sent His
Son to die for you. Gods plan is not for the world but for YOU.
God gives YOU blessings because of His relationship with YOU.
God wants YOU to be secure and powerful in YOUR life. But, we
can not have that if we are in the center. We cannot have that if
we only give ten percent of us to Him, and ten per cent to the
Church, and eighty percent to ME.
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We confuse the tithe principle because we focus on the object not
the person. God is not interested in the few coins we give Him, or
the prestige He may get if we put Him on our brochure. He
controls it all. He wants YOU! ALL of YOU.
God is a 100% person. He cleanses YOU 100%. He does it 100%
of the time if we confess our sin He is faithful. God loves YOU with
100% of His love ALL the time. God hates sin 100% of the time.
That means that to have the power and the promises YOU must
give God EVERYTHING.
But most of us do not like to get old. We love youth and want to
stay young. That is a big problem. If we stay young we must stay
immature. There is a time for fun and frolic but maturity in
relationship is where we too often find ourselves. Youth is great
but immaturity is not fashionable.
Where are You today? Are You in the center or is God? Are you
becoming mature or staying immature in your relationship with
God?
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Prayer for the day

Dear God,
almost everyday. Help me God to face the night with
Amen
10
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Theology A-Z
Thought for day 26

Be zealous for the final hour is
coming. We are often shortsighted in our world view.
Jesus is coming soon.
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Z is for Zero hour since we do not know the

future and the decision is now.
Z is or Zealot which is what we become when
we focus on ourselves.
We do not know the future. We do not know when our Zero hour
will be. But, we are zealous to live longer and fuller. To be zealous
is not a bad thing. In theology we are called to be zealous about
our faith. Zealous about our relationship with God.
Zero is also what we should be. To be more like Jesus and more
like God while being less of me. There is no Zero of us because
that would take our personality and free will away. There is no
Zero in time as we will live forever. That is why we are so zealous
about life.
Simon, a disciple of Jesus, was a zealot. He was chosen to be sent
by Jesus. He was so zealous about following the Messiah. I do not
know what happened to this Simon but he was zealous about
following. All the disciples were zealous. They believed that
without Jesus they were nothing. There was hope when they had
a relationship with Jesus.
The key was they knew that to leave what they were doing behind
to follow meant starting from nothing. Paul was so zealous before
he changed. He was zealous following his own ideas and ideals.
He achieved a high position and had a great future. Then he
became a Zero. A man who could not find his way because of his
blindness. He went to a Church who wanted to kill him. But,
becoming a Zero meant that he had hope. He was totally
dependent on Gods power.
Zealousness is not wrong. Being zealous about something is
important. We need it to keep our dreams alive. Being zealous
about the acts of religion will not give us hope. Being zealous so
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that my Church gets bigger is great but leaves us powerless to
guarantee our future.
Our Zero hour is coming. All our zealousness will not count
anymore. The only thing left is for God to burn all the empty zeal
we have and find the truth about our life. When this is done our
crown, big or small, will be given to us.
Are you ready for Zero hour, or are you just zealous to more
important in this life? The day will come and it is important to put
our priorities in their correct order. Remember that when God we
relax and let God take control it doesnt make us less zealous, it
makes us more powerful, more peaceful, more effective in our
daily life.
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Theology A-Z
Prayer for the day

Dear God,
I am so zealous to make my life better. I spend my time and
energy on myself, when I should be more zealous about the
zero hour. Help me to more conscious about what is most
important in my life. Being zealous is not a bad thing, but I
need to be focused on those things which count most in the
end.
Amen
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6

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Thought for day 1

A is for Awesome because we have an awesome

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 2

B is for Better because we can do better and be

easy most of the time.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 3

C is for CROSS which is the CROSSroads to our life.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 4

D is for DEATH, which must come if we are to live

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 5

E is for EVERYTHING which is what God wants from

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 6

F is for FOOLISH which is what we are, compared to

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 7

G is for GIFTS, which we are given by the God in

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 8

H is for HOLY, which is what we should be to be

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 9

I is for INSIGHT into our lives because God alone

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 10

J is for Jesus whose blood we need for our cleansing.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 11

K is for King which is what Jesus is now and was

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 12

L is for Lamb which is led to the slaughter.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 13

M is for Mind which is what we must guard.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 14

N is for the New life which is what we are promised.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 15

O is for Open to the world if they will choose it.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 16

P is for Perfect in Gods sight, which we are if we

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 17

Q is for QUIET which is what our heart can be if we

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 18

R is for Real which God is truly all about.

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 19

S is for Salvation which is offered to all of us

As the Guarantor of our Salvation, God gives us the peace that we

Prayer for the day

Thought for day 20

T is for Truth for it is the truth about God that

Prayer for the day