The Master's Journal

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Seasons!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2. a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3. a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4. a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5. a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6. a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7. a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8. a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Did you notice how many of those are hard times ? Dying, uprooting, killing, tearing down, “scattering stones,” weeping, mourning, searching, throwing away, tearing, hating, warring…. Yet every hard times is balanced out by a time of joy: birthing, planting, healing, building, laughing, dancing, gatherin

Christ Alone!

Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false gods. Our modern idols are many and varied. Even for those who do not bow physically before a statue, idolatry is a matter of the heart pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God. Is it any wonder that God hates it? Deuteronomy 4:27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirm

As a bible student it's fascinating to be in love with the word of God and its implications to my personal life and ministry but having a short virtual experience of Israel made me realize how important these places are in my growth as a bible interpreter and the desire to travel Israel is one of my list in this lifetime! Israel is a name used 2,431 times in the Bible. The primary thread throughout the Bible is the redemption of humanity, and Israel is at the center of that story. Israel is the Hebrew name Yisra'el, meaning God contends, or one who struggles with God. Those identified with that name are God’s people, chosen for a purpose. And that is what Israel ultimately means: God’s people. There are three things I appreciate about Israel during this virtual tour! 1.The Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecies Israel is a place where most biblical prophets stood and prophesies had been fulfilled, even Christ Jesus was born at Bethlehem. Wow! The object of the old test

Man’s Ideal Environment?

Is it about climate change? Is it about flooding? or Is it about our separation from God's presence? Everything that is not in its ideal environment malfunctions. No person or product can function properly outside the environment specifically designed for it by its manufacturer. So just as fish have to stay in water and plants have to stay in the ground if they are to flourish,so man must stay in God’s presence. Any fish that removes itself from water or is removed by another creature will eventually die and rot. The same is true of a plant. No plant can continue to live and bear fruit if its roots are not covered and nourished by the ground. In truth, a plant starts to die the instant its roots are removed from the ground, and its death is certain unless its roots are returned to the soil that is its source and ideal environment. Likewise, man’s life and the fulfillment of his destiny are possible only to the extent that he walks and talks with God in His presence. Oh How we

In the Midst of the Process

Joseph found himself sitting in a pit when, just a few days earlier, he had seen himself on a throne. He was probably thinking, “Where is the God who showed me that dream?”Suppose Joseph hadn’t learned self-control through all his hardships? When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he might have given in to the temptation.Instead, because he had learned discipline and reliance on God, he could be trusted in such a situation. What if God had told Moses, while he was still one of the most powerful men in Egypt, that in order to fulfill God’s vision to free the Israelites, he would lose his position, go through numerous hardships, and eventually not even enter the Promised Land himself? Maybe Moses would suggest to pass and let Aaron do it instead. Yet, through a long process,both of them deepened their relationship with God, developed their character, and fulfilled God's purpose. Do you really believe that God sees and knows everything? If you do, then you have to trust that your ha

Too busy to Pray?

“When I have a lot to do in a day, I spend more time in prayer, because more work is done by prayer than by work itself.” - Martin Luther He was right. If we are too busy to pray, we are too busy.We can never be too busy to pray because prayer makes our lives much more focused, efficient, and peaceful. Yet many had not got this principle genuinely,We spend just a few minutes with God, and then we try to do many hours of work in His name. We often sing, “This is the day that the Lord has made.” God is asking us, “If this is My day, then why don’t you come and talk to Me about it?” We put off praying because we think it is a waste of time or at least less important than other activities. Jesus taught one of the best examples on how we pray in Mark 1:35. 1.Jesus let go of comfort to pray. While it was dark and very early in the morning,Jesus went to pray. We often struggle to give up comfort because we always focus on our own circumstances rather than what God can do through what we go t

Oh Let's talk about Humility!

The word humble is derived from the Latin word humus, meaning “earth.” To be humble, then, means to be “down-to-earth.” In the context of character, this means to express and manifest your true self in accordance with your unique, inherent purpose. A leader can manifest true humility only after he accepts his significance as a person and as a leader. When he does so, he ceases to be self-conscious about his actions. He evaluates them regularly, but he does not strive at them, and he does not pretend to be someone he is not. If an individual “tries” to be humble, he has missed the true meaning of humility. If we’re not manifesting our true selves, we cannot be humble. We have inadvertently put on a mask that hides what we are meant to express and reveal to the world. When we are genuinely humble, we are less likely to be controlled by other people’s opinions of us.

Strengthened Through Trial!

The verb temper may be defined as “to make stronger and more resilient through hardship.” The process of tempering swords may be compared to a process that is essential to the building of our character this is the process of being tempted. You may be thinking, What? Isn’t being tempted something to avoid? We must realize that being tempted is not the same as succumbing to temptation. The process of temptation reveals what is genuine in our character and what is false, similar to the process of refining gold in fire, in which everything that isn’t pure gold is burned away. Every day of your life, your character will be tested! These tests are not for the purpose of defeating us but rather for strengthening us. Each of us has weak areas in our character. And testing, or tempering, has much more to do with checking for our weaknesses than for our strengths. The Roman blacksmiths would start out with weak, porous pieces of metal when crafting their swords. That condition of the metal descr

How to “Fall Up”

Restoration After Character Failure Leaders are normally trained in how to succeed, but they are rarely taught how to fail effectively by learning from their mistakes and making changes to avoid repeating them in the future. They fall down, but they don’t know how to “fall up” after failing. Remember that a leader’s ability to function successfully in his role of influencing others for a great cause in the interest of humanity is what I call the “trust factor.” Trust is the currency of true leadership and is the power that is deposited into the leader’s influence account. The only way to protect this deposit of trust is to establish strong character If an individual wants to secure his leadership, he must make protecting and maintaining his account of trust his principal responsibility. It can take years for a leader to build this account but only minutes of irresponsibility to deplete it and even cancel it. The following are the steps to restoration, reconciliation, and reclamation af

The man of God can never take the place of Christ caring for His bride.

One model that our churches often look to for fathering is the pastor. I want to address a concern I have about pastors modeling fatherhood for their people. In our society, pastors have a growing divorce rate. Many could be properly classified as “workaholics.” Often, pastors’ wives feel helpless in trying to turn their husbands’ hearts back toward home. The pastor seems to care for everyone else before his family. To defend his workaholism, a pastor may say to his wife, “You know I’m doing this for the church. This is my calling. I’m doing this for the Lord.” Unable to compete with God, the family members desperately try to get their needs met inappropriately and may even end up blaming God for their father caring more for the church than for his family. The church then becomes a “mistress” to the pastor, as he leaves wife and family to suffer without him. They expect the pastor to be Christ and not simply the pastor. The man of God can never take the place of Christ caring for His b

HOW TO DISCOURAGE AND STIFLE PEOPLE

1.A controlling atmosphere Some people “lead” by promoting an environment of fear, intimidation, obligation, dependency, or guilt. 2.A discouragement of creativity and individuality. Ideas are imposed from the top down, and there is no room for a contribution of ideas and solutions by subordinates. 3.A lack of teamwork When people are not encouraged to work together, are pitted against one another, and are excluded from the mission of a company or organization, they will usually retreat into their “corners” and take on an attitude of self-preservation. This separation and estrangement can lead to unnecessary repetition of tasks, suspicion, apathy, power struggles, and decreased productivity. 4.An absence of appreciation and credit. Authoritarian power is not concerned with the contributions of subordinates except to make sure that they have completed their tasks. Those who wield such power don’t credit those who have played a role in successes, but they are quick to blame others whe

The Powerful Pareto Principle

Could a simple analysis of your workload make 80 percent of it disappear? The Amazing Discovery in an Italian Garden Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto was born in Italy in 1848. He would go on to become an important philosopher and economist. Legend has it that one day he noticed that 20 percent of the pea plants in his garden generated 80 percent of the healthy peapods. This observation caused him to think about uneven distribution. He thought about wealth and discovered that 80 percent of the land in Italy was owned by just 20 percent of the population. He investigated different industries and found that 80 percent of production typically came from just 20 percent of the companies. 80 percent of results will come from just 20 percent of the action. 80/20 Reading and Studying Example Knowing what the textbook author thinks is most important, and then going back and finding the answers to those questions in the text itself, is much more efficient than reading the entire chapter from begi

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM

The Death of Jesus Christ, His resurrection and the birth of the Church during Pentecost at 33AD. During this period, the Nation of Israel is under the reign of Herod Agrippa II, and Felix as the governor of Rome in Judea. King Agrippa is fond of aestheticism, thus one of his renovation is the second temple which he embodied with roman architectures. Although Herod's Temple was actually the third temple in Jerusalem, it is identified as the Second Temple, since it was a remodeling of the temple built by the returning exiles in the latter part of the sixth century B.C. Although during the first millennium B.C. Palestine was often occupied by a foreign power, the Jews stubbornly resisted such occupation, 54-66 AD, The Romans found Palestine very difficult to control, shifting the status of the province from senatorial to imperial and sending officers of various ranks to administer the territory. The zealots are in the front line of this revolution.z ealots, under the lead

Ten Unhealthy Reason To Get Married

No one should ever get married without first carefully and clearly answering the question, “Why?” Deliberate and thoughtful consideration in advance will prevent a lot of problems, heartache, and regret later on. Knowing why you want to marry can confirm you in a good decision and help you avoid making a bad decision. Because knowledge is critical to success, it is important first of all to recognize some of the most common unhealthy reasons people use in choosing to get married. I have listed ten. This list is based not on guesswork but on evidence drawn from studies of countless failed marriages. We are not talking fiction here, but real life. Ten Unhealthy Reason To Get Married 1.To sprite Parents. Believe it or not, some people get married in order to spite or get back at their parents. “I’m so sick and tired of having to do everything they tell me! I’ll show them! I don’t have to stay around here anymore!” They may resent their parents’ rules or chafe under their parents’ discipli

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