Luke 22:24-29 ²⁴Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.>> Read More ... >>>

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Yesterday, I spent the day alone doing things that are far richer shared with someone very special, but that was not to be. It was the first Valentine’s Day I have ever spent without those simple wordsY, “I love you” being spoken in my ear by someone who did. While I am confident that day, I spent the day alone doing things that are far richer shared with someone very special, but that was not to be. It was the first Valentine’s Day I better days lay ahead, yesterday was not one of them. But I learned something…

“You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” (James 1:3, The Message)

During a pregame talk with a team, some years ago I asked the question, “What do you get when you squeeze a lemon?” Of course the standard answer fired back from coaches and players alike, “Lemon juice!”

But what nobody knew that morning was that I had filled the lemon with ketchup (tomato sause ). When I squeezed it tight and the red liquid oozed over my hand, they were all taken back.

“You’re wrong,” I then said. “The actual answer is that you get whatever is inside it.”

At that point I had them right where I wanted them, and then asked, “So, what’s inside you? What are we going to see when pressure puts the squeeze on you?” The answer is the same to the lemon question; we will see whatever is in you.>> Read More ... >>>

The great C. S. Lewis said, “A sudden provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man. It shows what an ill-tempered man I am.

Sy was maar 'n skamele 6 jaar oud toe ek haar vir die eerste keer ontmoet het. Ek ry gewoonlik die 4 kilometer af strand toe elke keer as ek voel dat die wêreld vir my te klein begin word. Sy was besig om 'n sandkasteel of iets te bou, en toe sy opkyk, kyk ek in die pragtigste blou ogies, so blou soos die see self.
"Hallo", sê sy. Ek antwoord met 'n knik van die kop, nou nie juis in 'n bui om te bodder met 'n klein dogtertjie nie."Ek bou", sê sy. "Ja, so sien ek. Wat bou jy?" Ek gee nou nie juis om wat sy bou nie..... "Aag ek weet nie, ek voel maar net lus om in die sand te speel." Die idee trek my nogal aan, en ek trek my skoene uit. 'n Strandlopertjie sweef verby. "Dis 'n vreugde", sê sy. "Dis 'n wat?" “'n Vreugde.” Mamma sê dat 'n strandlopertjie vir 'n mens vreugde bring." Die strandlopertjie verdwyn oor die duin. "Koebaai vreugde", mompel ek vir myself, "Hallo pyn!" Ek draai om, om te loop. Depressie het aan my geknaag - my lewe was 'n gemors. >> Read More ... >>>

by Francis Frangipane www.frangipane.org

  I have discovered that, as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God's love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to 1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization's regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

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So here we were—we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children and couldn't afford even basic housing.

by Francis Frangipane www.frangipane.org >> Read More ... >>>

A few years ago, I had a dream in which I found myself inside the mind of a dying man. The man had been in a coma for some time; his family had been praying, but they did not know whether or not he had accepted Christ. All they were sure of is that, throughout his life, he had resisted their efforts to lead him to Christ.

In the dream, I became so acutely aware of the man's state of mind that his thoughts, feelings and struggles almost seemed my own. Although his eyes were nearly closed and his vision clouded, he could see his loved ones at his bedside. I watched as he tried to reach toward his family, but outwardly his arm never lifted. Perceiving his thoughts, I heard him speak

"If you knew that I was after the best, then why did you do less than the least?" (Matthew 25:26, The Message).

Sooner or later we each will have to face the moment of truth -- when our lives are measured in the light of eternity. There is an abiding reality within the depths of our souls that stirs us to pursue that which is good and true, that which is virtuous and noble. By divine instinct we shun death, disease, and destruction -- for we were not made for these things.

And though this fallen world is marred with the ever-encroaching presence of evil, our hearts are up-linked to more heavenly pursuits. We were not made for failure, but success. We were not designed to malfunction, but to excel. We are not at ease settling for that which we know is less than our best. But, then, why do so many seem so ready to surrender to mediocrity?>> Read More ... >>>

The desperate ones

There is a spear point of people – for they are not many

The path they travel is the narrow one and few (a small in number) will find it.

A people set apart

A people chosen>> Read More ... >>>

They are hand picked by the Lord from before the beginning of time

Contrary to popular belief, success is not a product of chance. It is not the result of random selection or of a pre-determined function of fate. Success is written into the spiritual DNA by God for all mankind, no matter who they are, what financial or social environment they were born into, or what an individual may believe about himself. God has hardwired us to be successful. Failure does not exist in the plan of our Lord. Just as there is no failure in the hopes and dreams of parents toward their children, >> Read More ... >>>

Extract: "If we become a church of brick and mortar, we may cease to be a church of flesh and blood.”

“Our motive should not be to fill these seats, but to empty these seats,” Mercer has often stated to a profoundly unified and supportive congregation. But he admits it has taken a transformational journey to embrace a mindset that would rather see local families with roofs over their heads and food on the table rather than the church having a better sound system.
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I think it is important to look at the following story, not as a model, but as an encouragement towards obedience from a community of God's people. We are watching God do many things through His people and there is a divine shift going on that will impact all systems and methods.