Opportunities to Learn and Grow

Bible reading: Daniel 1:3-20
Focus verse: Daniel 1:18-20 “At the end of time set by the king to bring them in, the chief officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked to them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hannania, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

Testing is one of the ways in which learning is evaluated. Each day we are presented with opportunities to learn and grow in new ideas and we have the chance to better our understanding of the word of God. Daniel together with his three other friends are taken into a ten day learning experience and to be presented for testing after ten days. They refuse to defile their bodies with food and drinks that were not holy and pure before God but accept to take only what will please God. At the end of ten days the testing results show that they are ten times better than the other people.

Ten times better in ten days! Isn’t that encouraging.  Not nine times, or eight times, or five times better in ten days. This means each day was an opportunity for them to grow and they did not miss any single opportunity. Imagine if believers would grow in their faith and understanding and service of God each day. The result could be a well varied difference between the world and believers. For some of us, it would be thousands of times better than the world given the number of days we have lived as God’s own children. But is that the truth or we are mixed into the world so that barely any difference is seen regardless of the number of days we have lived as God’s children. Have we grown in proportion to our life spent with God? 2 Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word truth.  Avoid godless character, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.   

Take opportunities to learn and grow.

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Makira Baptist Church – Mfangano Kenya

Easter Changed Everything

 Easter Changed Everything

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 28:1-10

Focus Verses: Matthew 28:5-7  "Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”

Focus Verses: Matthew 28:5-7  "Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”

Let us imagine for a moment that after three days in the grave Jesus' body continued to lay in the grave. The stone was never rolled back from the door of the grave.  If this had happened we would have no hope of salvation.  We would have no hope of our sins being forgiven.  We would have no hope of heaven.  

Sunday morning changed everything.  We know that the stone was rolled away from the grave.  We know that Jesus did come out of that grave and he lives!  We know that God has power over death and the grave.  And that changes everything for us.  We have hope because we serve a risen Jesus not a dead Jesus.  The love that God has for us is what put Jesus on that cross.  I don’t think we can imagine the pain and suffering that Jesus went through because of our sins.

After Jesus' resurrection the disciples knew everything that had happened was true because they were willing to die because of the testimony of what they had seen.  And the resurrection of Jesus can change your life too.  The Bible says that after the two women visited the empty grave, the angel told them to go quickly and tell the disciples the good news.  We have now also been given a task to do.  We are to share the good news of the Gospel with others that don’t know that Jesus is alive.  Let us share this hope that we have because Easter has changed everything!

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

A Great Conversation

 A Great Conversation

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Focus Verse:

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.  " Colossians 4: 2-6

The last few verses in the book of Matthew are called “The Great Commission”.  This is a command that Jesus gave His followers before returning to heaven.  Jesus’ command is that we tell the Gospel (good news) to others and disciple them.  That means after we share the good news with them and they accept Christ, we disciple them by teaching them how to live the Christian life.  This is not complicated.  As we go about our daily lives we share what Christ has done in our lives with others as the opportunity arises.  Not everybody we talk to will accept our message, but that’s okay we are just being obedient to do what Jesus asked us to do.

A few years ago, my daughter, Tamara, had opportunities to speak with a person named Tom about Jesus at a coffee shop several times for a few weeks.  He told her that he doesn’t know where to begin reading the Bible.  Tamara suggested that he start with the book of John since this tells a lot about the life of Jesus.  We can pray for Tom that God would open his eyes to the Salvation that God wants to bring into his life.  

 

You can be obedient to what Jesus has asked us to do by starting a conversation with someone you meet as you are going about your business, whether it's at a coffee shop, the lake, the market or at school.   Luke 15:7 says,  “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away.”  When someone accepts Christ you will experience a great blessing in your life and there will be joy in heaven for this one lost sinner that repents and turns to God.  

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries