Living Today
Interesting articles from Christian teachers and leaders. Designed to help you as you follow Jesus here in Samoa
From One to Many…
Be encouraged by the following testimonies that come from Tomu who is the Station Manager at Life FM Fiji. He has been meeting with different people, organisations, and Churches and even mobilising volunteers to distribute The Word for Today. When we are faithful...
Testimonies of the Impact of The Word for Today
We received the following beautiful testimony from Coxwain in The Solomon Islands, about how God is continuing to work through the lives of a local church that he was visiting recently… Good afternoon Ian and Grant. Trust you had a great and enjoyable Christmas...
God is always wanting to use us
Recently, I was clicking through folders and folders of early photos of our kids. From baby age to the present, I just got lost in it for hours. How good it was to recount the memories, the places we had visited and I just couldn’t hold back giving God the glory for the good things He had done in our family. Towards the end, a certain photo stopped me in my tracks. You see, over 2yrs ago, our eldest daughter moved to Perth to follow God’s plan for her life. While Cindy and I daily still miss...
Bringing Clarity in Confusing Times
Clarity in Confusing TimesDr Kameel Majdali is an ordained minister of the Australian Christian Churches. He preaches all over the world with an emphasis on the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. He also leads the organisation Teach All Nations, a ministry that is dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible. Kameel recently joined the 20Twenty program on Vision Christian Media to share a preview of what to expect in his upcoming Australian...
God is Always at Work – We’re not Always Seeing It
The fact is that God is always “up to something”. He’s purposely been out-working His redemptive plan, a plan that’s been underway since day one, way back in the garden. In fact, before the garden.
How To Read and Study the Bible
Can you imagine being surrounded by the freshest produce, in the best kitchen with the best utensils, but not knowing how to prepare a meal? For many Christians, that’s exactly what reading the Bible feels like. Simply put, we just don’t know how to utilise it effectively. Ben Windle says you can attend church for many years, listen to a lot of teaching and still not learn how to read the Bible for yourself. Yet there is no better way to fuel our growth than personally engaging with the Bible....
God is Always Speaking
“Hello God, are you there? Why don’t you answer me?” I’m sure that has come out of our mouths at least once in our lifetime. Sometimes the idea is that God has turned off or gone quiet. It’s not like He’s keeping silent to teach us a lesson in faith. The reality is, “God is always speaking; we’re not always listening.” Ezekiel 12:25 For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. Genesis 35:13 Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. Psalm...
Be of Good Courage
Seeing in the midst of life's challenges From one day to the next, major events and occurrences change the way we see and live our lives. Daily we hear of: • Another major disaster; • Another hourly murder, rape or life ending behaviour; • Another greedy and injustice business deal; • An unsteady fragile stock market; • Another unexpected price rise; It seems harder to find the “Feel Good” stories in the midst of so much destruction, despair and hopelessness. Jesus said in the gospel of John...
Love in Action
How do we respond to someone’s need? Love is experienced in what we say…. But love becomes extravagant in “what we DO”
The Value of Relationships – Part 1
Relationships are such a part of our lives that at times we forget how important and necessary they are. Every part of our day is revolved around different forms of relationships.
Knowing God Better Every Day
A senior executive of a major bank in New York once told a reporter how he had risen to his position. At first I served as an office boy. I would collect the mail and distribute it to the various departments on different floors in the corporation. Then one day the president of the company called me aside and said, “from tomorrow on, I want you to come into my office and spend time with me every day. I replied, “but what could I do to help, I know nothing about finances.” “Never mind that”,...
Conquering Stress
During the course of our life, we encounter stress. Some in high levels, and some in low. Emails, global linking, social media… it seems that over-night everything has impacted our modern life, creating overwhelming deadlines, frustrations, and demands. How can we be conquering stress in our lives? In 2008, Australian Heathcare company Medibank Private released their research results into “STRESS”. Without the 'per year' hidden costs of re-staffing and re-skilling where there is stress related...
Build a relationship with your children
‘Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.’ Psalm 12 7:1 NIV
How would you describe your relationship with your children? Strained? Exciting? Heart-breaking? Enjoyable? If you want a real eye-opener, ask them to describe their feelings about you and their home. But be warned, what they say might not be to your liking! And having a Christian home doesn’t necessarily exempt you. The old nature in us still rears its ugly head from time to time, and habits set in concrete can lead to broken communication.
When Biblical principles are ignored, the result is pain and strain in the family. Three illustrations come to mind:
1) Rebekah loved her son Jacob more than his brother Esau, so she used him to deceive their father, Isaac, and cause division in the family (see Genesis 27).
2) Eli, the high priest, let his boys run wild, and in the end, it cost him his life (see 1 Samuel 3-4).
3) David preached one thing but practised another, and his children (as kids will do) were more influenced by what he did than by what he said. (see 2 Samuel 11, 13, 15-16; 1 Kings 11). Nobody is immune; not David, not Rebekah, not Eli, not you! But evaluation is pointless if it leads to guilt without action.
So what should you do? Take time to get close to your children. Deal with the barriers between you. You can’t change anything unless you’re willing to acknowledge it, and sometimes change must begin with you. For example, does your attitude need adjusting? How about your priorities? What about the example you have been setting lately? Before you try to deal with your children, ask God to deal with you.
SoulFood: Acts 18-19, Mark 4:35-41, Ps 7:10-17, Pro 11:7-9
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©