Monthly Archives: December 2017

THANK GOD IN OUR JOURNEY

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THANK GOD IN OUR JOURNEY

Exodus 16: 8-12

Journey
Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

Verse 10: It came about as Aaron, “Say to all congregation of the sons of Israel,’ that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

Verse 11: The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ” I have heard the grumbling of the Sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, “At twilight, you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread and you shall know I am the Lord your God”

It is easy to praise and thank God when we reach our destination but we should learn
how to praise Him in our journey.

INTRODUCTION

All of us are blessed by God.

What are those things that we are thankful for?

Is it that most of the time we praise Him for what was given to us.

Most people today are thankful and praise God when they arrive at their desired destination.

But the challenge is, can you praise and thank Him in your journey?

THE GRUMBLING ISRAELITES

Looking back on the life of the people of God, He had promised them that they will be brought to a place of flowing milk and honey.

To a land given they will call their own.

The Israelites were being led by Moses to a place promised by God to them, but life in the wilderness is not easy.

In the beginning, they can see their destination but they were disillusioned by their situation.

When you are conquered by your current situation, you tend to forget the destination.

When you are overwhelmed by your distress, you forgot to hold on to the promise.

This is what happened to the Israelites.

They were excited to leave their suffering behind because they believed in God for a promised deliverance and relief, but the wilderness is their test.

Instead of praising God on the journey, they blamed God and Moses for their fate.

So they started to complain, to murmur and grumble.

DISHEARTENED SITUATION

Transition is not easy.

Transition is a challenge.

That is why only a few love change.

We can relate with the Israelites because most of us when we are in transition and when things are not working well, we look for someone to blame.

We put blame even on people who wanted to help us.

We blame our situation on our parents, our boss, our employer, our colleagues…

The people questioned Moses and asked if they were brought to the wilderness to be put to death as there were no food, no water, and no comfort.

Sometimes we focus more on our current experience that we forgot why we are really in transition.

Instead of appreciation, when the blessings become normal, we tend to consider the blessing as an obligation.

LOSS SIGHT OF THE PROMISE

When people focus more on their situations, we lose sight of the vision and a promised provision.

HOW TO PRAISE GOD IN OUR JOURNEY

1. LOOK AHEAD FOR THE PROMISE

Never thank God only because you reach the destination or you achieved your goal, or you have been successful in your life.

God’s promise is like a boarding pass in your hand, believe that you will reach your destination.

When you have your boarding pass and you know you are on the right plane, don’t worry.

The plane will take you to the desired airport even when there is a re-route.

Our hope will be more if we always look ahead to the promises He has for us.

We have to praise Him for there is something more and better that awaits us.

Even in times that we don’t see it clear enough, always believe in His Words for God’s promises are true.

In my Father’s house are many mansions, I will prepare a room for you.

Praise Him because He is taking us to where He wants us to be.

When God says so, consider it done.

As Paul says in Phil 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

2. LOOK BEHIND WHERE YOU COME FROM

Phil3:13 “but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”

God is always taking us to a better place where we are right now.

We can truly praise God when we know where we are going and thank him more when we look back knowing where we came from.

Looking back gives us the ability to know that we are progressing, that we are moving.

A journey is about movement.

Life is a journey and no matter how slow and fast it is, our life should always be moving forward.

Past is a history to learn. It had a good memory to cherish and to treasures and bad memory to learn and fuel us to move forward.

We cannot make friends with the past if there is someone and something greater waiting for us in the future.

We cannot stay where we came from otherwise we will impede growth.

You will appreciate it now when you look back and see yourself back then.

Isn’t it that a lot has changed?

Isn’t it that today is better than what it was?

3.  LOOK INSIDE FOR THE PURPOSE

We can praise God, even more, when we look within ourselves, for the ultimate purpose of why we are in transition.

Before we grumble and complain, try to see first what is behind the suffering we are into right now.

When we know the purpose and our goal, consider that God is preparing us for something big.

Learn to wait on the Lord and He will renew our strength like the wings of an eagle.

Why? So that in waiting we prepare ourselves to carry the weight of the blessings that He has about to give.

Maybe your situation is hard and difficult because you’re preparing for your retirement. It’s hard because you need to save and be tight on your finances.

Your situation is difficult because you’re supporting your family back home.

But be thankful because, despite your situation, you are strong, healthy, and continually blessed by God to support them.

If you know the purpose inside of you, everything that you face is a challenge to overcome.

The more challenge you overcome, the more you grow in your character.

The more we become excited and the more we will appreciate when the blessings come.

We therefore praise and thank Him for the blessings that are about to be given but also the training and lesson it gives while waiting for it to come.

We thank God not because He is killing us or inflicting us with more pain or difficulty but He is training us and equipping us to adapt to the new territory He prepared for us and me.

Sometimes we thought that God is against us.

So we thought of something that we could do by ourselves and thought we think well than God.

GOD KNOWS BEST

One afternoon there was a man who is under the Duhat tree to take a siesta and He saw a duhat fruit. He said to himself “I think there is something wrong, why did God let this small fruit of duhat grow on a tree while pumpkin buds out on a soft and small vine where it’s larger than the duhat.”

While pondering, a duhat fruit fell on his face. Then he exclaimed “Ah God knows best! If that duhat fruit that fell on my face is a pumpkin, then I’m done. Dr. Belo will be having a hard time fixing a battered face”

God knows best and His purpose is always best for you.

My plan for you is not to harm you but a future.

4.  LOOK OUTSIDE AND BE ENCOURAGE

Most of the time when we look outside and see what is happening on the television, hearing the news, we will be discouraged.

The economy is in recession, the market is down, my stocks are red, and there are news and rumors of termination and much more. All of this will discourage us.

But looking outside will also help us to be encouraged because, despite any global concern happening around us, we are still blessed.

We are still alive and being protected by God.

Looking outside helps us to see how God blesses the ants, the lilies, and the birds.

If they are blessed, how much more that God could not bless me.

Looking outside gives us more reason to thank God

Looking outside shall encourage us to appreciate what God is doing to others and help us to look into ourselves to be thankful for what we have.

5. LOOK ABOVE FOR THE INSPIRATION

When everything goes wrong, always look up for inspiration.

Like Job who lost everything in his life still blesses God and thanks to Him for all that he had.

Look up and thank God for what you have.

Thank Him not only when you received favors but in all circumstances give thanks to God.

Journey in the desert is not easy but Moses reminds them that in their forty years in the wilderness, their feet had not swollen.

For forty long years, God never missed a single day without Manna falling from the sky.

When they were bitten by snakes, God asked them to look upon a serpent rod and they were healed.

God’s presence was with them always for He was fire by night and a tower of clouds by day.

Never question God in our situation till you look up for inspiration. You will be amazed to know that what you have in your transition is nothing compare to what God prepared for you at your destination.

There are many things in this world we don’t have control over, but look up and thank Him who is always in control.

START COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS

Is it that most of the time we count the things that we don’t have?

I don’t have this latest I-phone, I don’t have a job, I don’t have this, I don’t have that.

It’s easier to count what we don’t have yet we don’t count the value of what we do have already.

If we start to count our blessings, soon we will stop counting anymore.

What we don’t have will outweigh the values of what we have

Count your blessings until you can’t count them anymore.

May you thank God always in your journey.

Mikesendon

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KNOWING WHO WE ARE IN GOD

Knowing who we areKNOWING WHO WE ARE IN GOD

John 1:19-28

Many of us feel troubled, anxious, hopeless, and live far from God because we don’t know who really we are.

If we really want to experience the magnificent and amazing grace of God, then we need to know ourselves and understand how God sees us.

We are made for God and for God alone.

We are His masterpiece and His wonderful creations.

The basic understanding of ourselves is based on understanding deeply on God.

John’s understanding of himself 

When John the Baptist was asked “Are you the Christ?” he said no.

He said that he was the voice of the one crying in the wilderness; make straight the way of the Lord.

Even though John has a lot of followers and believed in him, he understood the truth of who really he was and what his role was.

Knowing God as He is

What we know about God develops us into a person of God.

It makes us humble.  V27 says “The thongs of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie”

Our encounter with God should always remind us of who we are.

When Moses encounters God at the burning bush, he removed his sandals as he was stepping on the holy ground.

Wherever the presence of God, it becomes holy because of God’s holiness.

Knowing God makes us Humble

One time a man climb up a coconut tree and wanted to end his life.

His concerned neighbors immediately called their community leader to talk to this desperate man that maybe he will change his mind. The community leader with diplomacy encourages the man to come down and offer his help but to no avail.

The community leader called in for their town mayor to take over hoping that his influence would change the mind of this hopeless man ready to end his life but still without success.

They became desperate that their last recourse was to call for their Parish priest to give him final blessings before this man jumped off the tree.

The priest came near the tree and without any words, he gave his blessings by the sign of the cross.

With fear and trembling, the man immediately climbed down the coconut tree.

All the people clapped their hands in surprise.

The curious town mayor approached him and asked “ Why you don’t climb down the tree when we asked you to do so while when the priest came without any words you came down immediately?” the man just said “ When the priest came, I was afraid when he gave a sign that says if you don’t come down, we will cut the tree”

Zacheus’s encounter with Jesus was a humbling experience for him despite his sins, Jesus approached him and asks him to come down from the sycamore tree to dine in his house.

Our knowledge of God should always remind us that we have to be humble in front of Him.

We should climb down from our sycamore trees.

We should leave the pedestals that make us proud, that give us the feeling that we are above the others.

We have to come down if we wanted God to dwell in us.

For God’s throne is in heaven but He also dwells in the heart of those who have lowly and pure hearts.

Knowing God Makes us a better person 

Our encounter with God will make us better people.

Jesus did not condemn Zacheus but He showed his passionate love and mercy for this man.

Jesus’ love for sinners was so visible in the encounter of Mary Magdalene when all the people wanted to stone her to death.

God doesn’t condemn us as He sees the better side of us.

His mercy prevails over our weary and stray hearts.

He always gives us a lot of chances to prove to ourselves that we are worthy of His love and compassion.

No matter what other people think about you, remind yourselves that God thinks better for you.

His love changes us to restore our dignity that was tarnished by our sins.

He doesn’t give up molding us to be the person he wants us to be as long as we allow Him to do His works in us.

Knowing God drives out our fear 

Knowing that God is with us, who can be against us?

It boosts our confidence that we have someone to rely upon. No matter if the world turned us down, God’s help is always at hand.

When fear is far greater than our belief, we begin to lose sight of what is really big.

Remember the story of David?

All the soldiers were afraid of fighting the giant Goliath.

What they can see was the bigness of this giant warrior. The courageous and brave soldiers were daily intimidated by his invitation for a fight every morning.

But David, small as he was compared to Goliath did not lose his courage.

The secret.

He remembers the times that God was with him when he fought the wild animals while tending his sheep.

He sees the bigness of his God rather than the bigness of Goliath.

In our daily lives, we may be intimidated daily by the so many difficulties that come our way and test our faith.

Focusing our eyes on small problems daily magnifies them into bigger sizes until we don’t see clearly the blessings behind them.

It becomes a Goliath that threatens us.

Knowing that God is always with us will give us the wisdom to use small things in our favor.

Fear blinded us to see that we are equipped to fight our daily struggles.

Knowing God makes us more generous 

God’s generosity should make us more generous as well.

We have to understand that what we received is more than enough to bless others as well.

When Zacheus experience the generosity of Jesus, Zacheus suggested that he will return back whatever he had taken from those he believed he cheated with.

     “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your  righteousness”-2 Cor:10

We received more so that we could bless more and share these blessings with those who need them.

We should become the channel of that blessings rather than the bucket because a channel will never run out of supply.

God has given us more gifts not because we are serving Him but rather to equip us in our service.

We cannot beat God in His generosity.

We received it so that we don’t have an alibi or any excuses that we cannot give.

God’s generosity should be manifested by our generosity and let others experience this through our unselfish giving and sharing of what we received.

Remember that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows joyfully will also reap bountifully.

To know and understand deeply who we are is to go back to our creator.

We are special. We are gifted. We are blessed because that is His will for us.

May your happiness be full,

mikesendon-qoute

Mikesendon

THE POWER OF A POSITIVE MIND

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THE POWER OF A POSITIVE MIND

Matthew 6:25-37

Mind

Is it not that our life could be more peaceful, successful, and purposeful if our mind is not full of clutter, rubbish, and negative thoughts?

Because the one thing that should be important in our life, the unique gift we received that should be helping us to be different, to be unique, be fruitful, to be good, to be great, and be successful is sometimes the same thing that is KILLING US.

This is a powerful life-changing message that will enlighten us on how powerful and gifted we are among other God’s creatures.

Today I want to share with you that all of us possess and are endowed with such a powerful gift that no other creature has, IT’S THE POWER TO THINK.

The subject is so powerful that can change our life if we will only understand the power of having A POSITIVE MIND.

UNIQUE POWER

God has given all its creatures distinctive characteristics, features that make them distinct from the other creatures.

The Creator has given them certain qualities they need to multiply, live, and survive.

Have we not been amazed at how fast the Cheetah runs? The fastest animal that can run at a speed of 110-120 kph has this nature to help them hunt their prey and escape their predators as well.

When you see massive elephants, they are so huge that you cannot put them in your refrigerator. Gifted with intelligence and strength makes them different as well.

When you look at a lion, they are more mighty than most animals and these animals have no match for the lion. Maybe that’s why they are tagged to be king of the jungle.

When you look at the sky, do you think you see Superman or an airplane flying high?

Nup! It’s an eagle who has a strong wing with an average wingspan of 1.8 to 2.3m and they love to fly above the storm.

This unique power and qualities are innate for them to survive so that when the LION roars, the cheetah could run in the wild.

Lion has no match for cheetah’s speed because it has powerful legs.

So the Lion looks for another prospect and he sees ELEPHANT. But the older elephant is so huge and heavier than your car, the lion just stares at him and asks himself, how I could eat it all?

While looking at the sky, the lion sees the magnificent bird in the sky with its majestic wings spread throughout, but the lion has no match for it because the eagle can fly high taking advantage of the storm.

Now we ask ourselves if God has given the eagles with majestic wings, who can threaten them? And a lion is so strong that when it roars the animals flee out of his sight.

If God has given the elephant with weight, an eagle with wings that can soar, a lion with sharp teeth and a mighty roar; and a cheetah that has a speed with no other; then what do I have to compare with them?

What distinct quality do I have to overpower them?

Ahh! God has given me a MIND.

I have the POWER WITH MY MIND.

WE HAVE MORE POWER THAN WE THOUGHT

How we could match their powers?

With this mind power, we can’t run as fast as a cheetah, but we have the edge to outrun the cheetah by inventing the car that moves faster than a cheetah.

You can say to Cheetah, “I am not scared of you because I can ride a jeep and escape.”

We don’t have a match with the lion’s teeth but we can attack them by using a weapon. We have that genius as well to tame them.

We don’t have a match elephant strength but man invented cranes to lift heavy loads.

We don’t have a match the eagle’s wings to soar above the clouds but man develop an airplane and spaceship that could fly beyond the stars.

WHAT MAKES US POWERLESS

But what are an eagle’s majestic wings if we clamped his wings? What good it will do?

The eagle will fall to the ground.

What is the use of a lion’s teeth if you clamped his mouth? We have taken out his power and it can roar no more.

What is the strength of an elephant in a sturdy cage, they are useless.

If God has given them the power to survive with their unique abilities and nature, then for me to survive, what God has given me is my MIND.

What is the use of our mind if it is powerless?

That is why the mind is an expensive and awful thing to waste and many people are wasting these unique gifts and power that we have.

The battlefield is in our minds, because if the enemy has our minds, then we’re like a lion with no teeth, like an eagle with no wings, and a cheetah without legs.

It makes us useless.

MAKE NO THOUGHTS

 In the King James Version, it says that “Make No Thought of your life”.

But how does Jesus say make no thought of our life?

It’s quite intriguing because we use our minds to strategize, plan for the future, and make a goal.

Thinking is our life.

The highest-paid person is the one who thinks.

It’s the Thinker, the movers who are paid well. But how does Jesus say make no thoughts of your life?

Jesus is not asking us not to be mindless about the future but how we think about our future.

He is telling us not to worry about our future.

Because worry results in anxiety.

When anxiety becomes more frequent, it results in a bigger problem.

The problem with anxiety is that we are afraid of something not happening yet.

And I am not exempted from that because I also worry.

A person who is full of anxiety repeatedly sees the picture of something that makes him worry.

But Jesus said to be anxious about nothing.. Make no thoughts.

Maybe what Jesus was trying to expound in the idea of “make no thoughts” is not because we don’t use our minds to think, but the idea of not using our minds against us.

That the power that I have will be the same power to kill me. That the same power I can use against the enemy can be used to my disadvantage.

THE MIND AGAINST ME

It says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.

The enemy, therefore, his ultimate purpose is to destroy us using all of his devise and skills to manipulate everything and create situations to make us worry.

The enemy understands how we can be powerful if I use my mind’s power.

It is by our mind that we serve and worship the Lord as we need to love God with all of our minds.

How we could truly serve and love Him if we are not in the right stage of our minds?

He knows how creative I could be if I am on the right stage of my creative mind.

Would it be the enemy is stealing our today by worrying about tomorrow?

Is it that he threatens me with death tomorrow that I cannot enjoy my today?

All the terrorist activities happening all around the globe is enemies’ ideology not only to kill you physically but there are more to that.

More people are destroyed and stolen their lives because of the worries, the dreadful thoughts it creates in the mind of people.

More people’s lives are destroyed and disrupted by worrying rather than the number of people killed by any bullet, an explosion, or terrorist attack.

It terrorizes our minds.

We live afraid, we fear death that we don’t enjoy life. We are afraid to go to shopping malls or even ride an airplane.

We are more fearful of losing our job, how will I retire? How will I survive?

We lost sight of today because we are so anxious about the future.

 

 SINGLE FOCUS MIND.

If we go back to the text before the text that we read Mt 6:22

The eyes are the lamp of the whole body, do then your eyes are clear your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

It is in the context that we have two eyes but we can only see one image. Why? Because of a single focus vision.

But if the focus is not clear, the image we can picture is blurred and not clear

What makes the eyes to be single is FOCUS.

If the eyes are single then the whole body is full of light. If not everything is there but it’s not clear.

Ah, if our mind is out of focus, everything is there but we can’t see it clearly.

We gave bad decisions and we cannot see the clear details or picture of what good it should be.

In a single vision, there should be a focus.

Even your camera, the lens should be focused on a center or a subject.

For us to be focused, God is asking us to what is the center.

Jesus said not to focus on what are not important in our life.

Is life more important than food or our clothes important than our body?

It’s a trick of the enemy to bring our focus on the provision rather than on the vision.

To the gift rather than to the giver.

DO NOT WORRY

 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

That is why in our prayer, ask God to bring back focus in our life.

Your mind is the cheetahs’ speed, it’s the eagle’s wings and it’s the lion’s teeth.

If we are not focused, the enemy is more motivated to paralyze us by crippling our power.

God is teaching us not to worry because the thing that we can’t do He can do…

Why worry about things we cannot fix. Why worry about a sickness you cannot cure?

Why worry about your spouse overseas if you don’t have power over their mind?

Why worry about the food you can’t grow? Nor worry of circumstances beyond your power to control.

BE ANXIOUS ABOUT NOTHING

To be worried is not to be anxious about what will go wrong.

Faith comes from hearing the Word of God.

What people are talking about you does not matter.

What is important is what you talk about and what you say to yourself.

No matter if people say that you are beautiful while you talk to yourselves that you are ugly, what good does it bring?

Likewise, even if everyone says that you’re a loser yet you speak to yourself that you’re a winner, their words have no effect on you because it is what you believe.

What you say about yourself matters.

Life and death are at the tip of our tongue.

We need to choose and that wise decision comes from a clear mind.

The blessings could not be released because of what you say about yourselves.

But when you believe what you say about yourselves, then you’re calling it to your advantage.

Our minds absorb and process what we say about ourselves.

If you worry, the enemy does not need to send a terrorist to attack you because he had already established a cell inside of you.

That cell activates the negativity that could kill you softly.

FOCUS NOT ON THE PERSON BUT ON YOUR PURPOSE

We have to focus on your purpose rather than your person. With positive faith.

Stop thinking that you are still single, that your nose is flat, that you are inflicted with HIV (hair is vanishing, that you suffer from AIDS (Acquired Income Deficiency Syndrome), that your color is black or brown…So what?

What is lacking in you will not kill you.

Is worrying will add a single hour to your life?

What’s wrong with you is not wrong with you.

If you think right there is nothing against your way.

BECAUSE YOUR MIND IS YOUR POWER.

Jesus when He said “make no thoughts of your life” is not teaching us to be thoughtless but NOT TO WORRY.

It is by worrying that you become thoughtless.

Worry delays the processing of our decision.

Worrying is thinking over and over again making us restless.

Thinking over and over again without resolving the issues is useless.

Our life could be more productive, meaningful, and beautiful if we will focus on our purpose.

Saint Paul says, think of something great, noble, beautiful, praiseworthy, and promote excellence and DWELL on these things.

 DOWNLOAD WHAT IS GOOD

Like a computer, it’s usually corrupted by the virus unintentionally we downloaded into the system.

Sometimes we thought that the software we downloaded is essential to our devices because we were enticed by its function and features.

Later we notice that it starts to buffer, and the system becomes slower until it becomes totally crapped.

Our mind is created by God to function as what He intended it to be. However, during our lifetime, our minds are being polluted by the so many things that we put into them.

There is a saying that says, we become what we eat. In the same manner, we become who we are by what we feed our minds.

A doctor became a doctor because of what he reads and what he feeds in his mind, the same thing with an engineer, a pilot, a nurse, or an astronaut.

Entertain negativity and your thought will be negative.

When I was indulge in reading and watching articles and videos that arouse my sexual lust, my mind became lustful.

That is why we need to guard our minds and we need to be always transformed by the renewing of our minds.

LEARN TO UNLEARN

 No one was born worrying.

We have not seen in our lifetime a baby that is anxious about their clothes or the food they will eat.

Worrying is a learned behavior and we learned it from our parents and from the people around us.

If worrying is learned, then we can unlearn it as well.

Be transformed and unlearned the things that are not important in our lives and replace them with something worthwhile, that bring excellence.

Now start to speak to yourself, “Do not Worry…do not worry, don’t worry, and don’t worry”.

Say it again and again so until you hear it by yourself.

Speak to your mind.

You are special, and may you unleash the power of your mind,

Mikesendon