146. WHEN WINDS ARE CONTRARY Acts 27:4.

When you set out to do anything for God, The enemy will try to hamper your progress with ‘Contrary Winds” The above Scripture reminds us that if you feel you’re sailing against the wind, you probably are, but, you are also very likely heading in the right direction! In (Matthew 4:1) we read “Jesus was tempted by the devil. Satan never lets up, he intends to achieve his goal which is to get you off track with God. And sometimes he does, so be vigilant, he missed out with Jesus in the desert, but he went back with another tactic and entered Judas at the Last Supper on the night before Jesus died. But of course he missed out again .No, he never gives up, one of his names is the Tempter. That’s his job and mission, so pray and always be aware that he is lurking around and will use anyone, or anything, at anytime to achieve his ambition and take you away from God’s plan for your life. Don’t let that happen, pray through it, engage with the Holy Spirit, And you know what!!, Satan can never remove the Holy Spirit from you. You yourself is the only one who can do that. Why? Because you invited Him into your life and you are the only one who can tell Him to leave. That is something you must always be remember and be aware of. When the Holy Spirit comes into your life, He brings with Him the Spiritual gifts of Wisdom, knowledge and understanding which are not just important in themselves, but so essential in the life of the believer. So when temptation comes, use them, How?You ask. Just take five, Stop and think. Think what?... Who is talking to me? Where is this information coming from? Will it take me closer to Jesus or further away from Him? The answer will soon make itself clear and then you will know how to proceed. Reimar Schultz puts it this way, “Wherever you go today ...Satan will try to get you... If you leave home without your Spiritual armour ON, he will make you fall. If you leave your belt of truth on the hook, your breastplate of righteousness by the door, your gospel shoes under your bed, or if your shield of faith, the sward of the Spirit or the helmet of Salvation are left behind and you say "today I will pray when I get a chance”, you have just given away your victory. Before long the wrong words will come out of your mouth, You will look at forbidden fruits and display an improper attitude. The most foolish thing you can do is to leave home unarmed and spiritually naked. Only a fool says ‘I have no time to pray’ But later he finds all the time in the world to repair the damage his lack of prayer has produced. Just as Truth is the currency of Heaven, so Prayer is the Oxygen of Heaven, and we need to learn to breath it all the time if we intend to make Heaven our home for Eternity. Following Jesus is not a walk in the park...Every good thing in the Kingdom...from Adam onwards has come through men and women who have stuck it out, through the tough times through hot and cold , highs and lows, wars and peace, wealth and poverty. It’s not what we have, so much as what we do with what we’ve been given and the armour of God is one of the greatest gifts made available to us by the Holy Spirit because that armour will protect and defend us at the same time. So make full use of The Armour of God. Make a list of God’s Armour, and stick it on the inside of your bedroom door, Don’t leave your room without reading it each morning.. (E Ephesians 6:10-12) In (Acts 27:10) Paul told everyone on board the ship bound for Rome, “This voy2age will end with disaster and wreckage. Paul wasn’t talking about a little skirmish or a bit of cargo loss, No, this voyage was beset with disaster and much loss. He didn’t speak about a bit of a sea storm, Not at all! The words he used were “Disaster and Much Loss” they were all afraid for their lives… Now, God had told Paul he would not die and that he would witness to Him in Rome, so Paul knew he would end up in Rome one way or another. But, Satan had other ideas. This goes to show us if we truly believe God, our faith will carry us through the greatest storms that will come our way. Paul was destined to strike a fatal blow at the heart of the Roman Empire. So when he walked into Rome with the gospel, Hell shook and all Heaven rejoiced, And we are all Beneficiaries of that little Battle-scared man with chains around his ankles who started to convert many in Rome, and gave us the books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. While he was the prisoner of Jesus Christ. These phrases from Acts 27, bring to life more vividly this last journey of Paul’s life. “The winds were contrary… We had sailed slowly… arrived with difficulty...Sailing was now dangerous...A tempestuous headwind now arose… We secured the skiff with difficulty...used cables to undergird the ship… exceedingly tempest tossed...We threw the ship’s tackle overboard… Neither sun nor stars appeared for many days...All hope that we would be finally saved was given up...The stern was broken to bits...The destination is within reach...But not without “much loss.” (Acts 27:43-44) The Centurion wanting to save Paul, commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land. The rest, (some on parts of the ship’s wreckage, escaped safely to land. When you keep your eyes on Jesus, you WILL make it in spite of the storm which is raging about you. That’s Guaranteed by God Himself. The Biblical History of the church ends with these victorious words in (Acts 28:14: “And so we came to Rome.” God said it, God did it. Thank you for reading these thoughts on coping with “Contrary Winds”. You will be sure to get them, don’t panic, 2just go to Jesus and pray, listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice and do what He says. Trust your God. – God Bless, Phaline.

145. FINDING COMMON GROUND. 1 Corinthians, 9:22.

To influence someone, you must first of all connect with them. And to do that, you must look for common ground. In the above scripture, Paul says to the Corinthians:- “I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” Another Bible version expounds on Paul’s words this way. “I am not anyone’s slave, But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the law to win them. And when I am with people who are not ruled by the law, I forget about the law to win them. Of course I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can to win them. I do all this for the Good News, because I want to share in its blessing.” When it came to preaching or teaching the truth however, Paul wouldn’t give an inch. But when it came to reaching and influencing people for Christ, he had to remove every roadblock between them and Jesus. And we must be willing to do the same. People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Before someone can receive the truth, you have to share “yourself” in such a way as to convince them that you truly love and care about them and this can only be done by finding ‘common ground.’ Whether you are applying for a job, or trying to win someone to Jesus, counselling, advising or correcting someone’s behaviour, to be effective, you must look for ‘common ground.’ Let’s look at some of the qualities that are required. Availability:- Paul writes in (1 Corinthians 9:19) “I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” Establishing areas of common interest takes time. It also takes effort. It has been reported that to-day a typical business executive has an on-the-job attention span of six minutes. In six minutes a person can hardly get his or her feet on the ground, much less find common ground. Identifying areas you can agree on calls for empathy and a willingness to listen to what the other person has to say. In her book “How to Talk so People Will Listen” , Sonya Hamlyn conveys that most people find this challenging because of the ‘me first’ factor. She writes “Listening requires giving up our favourite human pastime” ie involvement in ourselves and our own self interests. It’s our primary and entirely human focus and it’s where our motivation to do anything comes from. With this as a base, can you see what a problem is created when we are asked to listen to someone else? So what’s the solution? First of all it’s essential to acknowledge and answer the listener’s two instinctive and unspoken questions, which are “Why should I listen to you?” and “What’s in it for me if I do?” Any time you are willing to listen to people, and they really understand how, what you are offering meets their requirements, you are halfway towards your goal of finding Common Ground. To establish “Common Ground” you must be adaptable, Thomas Aquinas said: “To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them.” You must be willing to move from where you are to where they are, to adapt and try to see things from their point of view. Anytime you are aware of distance between you and the person you are trying to reach, it’s good to search for something in your own background and experience that relates to theirs. Don’t start the process by telling them about yourself, begin by moving to where they are and trying to see things from their perspective adapt to them – don’t think that they should adapt to you. Instead of telling people how you feel, find out how they are feeling. Instead of telling them how you see things, discover how they see things, Instead of trying to tell them what you want, find out what their needs are. Abraham Lincoln said, “When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one third of my time thinking about Moses, and I am not. But I live by the law to win them. And when I am with people who are not ruled by the law, I f what I will say to him and two thirds of my time thinking about what he will say to me. The truth is, you can’t take someone on a journey, unless you are willing to start where they are at. Only then can you truly connect and lead them to where you want to take them. You can know a lot about a person, but still not understand them. More information is not always the answer, in Psalm (42:7) The Bible tells us:”Deep calls to deep” that means, to really know people you must move beyond head knowledge and learn to speak the language of the heart. And that requires great and in most cases self sacrificial love. No, it’s not always easy or pretty, but when it works, I’m sure it will gain you a few more brownie points or should I say stars beside your name in the book of life. I don’t know, but I do know that God has a special place for those who bring one sinner to repentance. They have to see themselves as a sinner before they can repent; You telling them they are, wont help one bit. All you can do at this stage is have a box of tissues handy, Pray the Holy Spirit’s presence and be ready to embrace a new member into God’s Kingdom as they spill it all out. Thank you for reading these thoughts on “Finding Common Ground” I pray The Lord’s assistance and encouragement in all your endeavours in this direction. Remember Prayer and Holy Spirit in-put is of vital importance when taking on the spiritual guidance of another person. So I pray The Lord go with you. God Bless. Phaline. -----------------------------

144 KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE. Hebrews 6:18.

Hope, as the world sees it, is a maybe, perhaps or even wishful thinking, 0r just wishing for something to come true. But, True Spiritual Hope is Faith filled believing it will happen. Hope combined with faith is...”Having met all the required conditions” expecting something so desperately, that despite all evidence to the contrary, you keep believing God for it. And the remarkable thing about it is that the act of True Spiritual Hoping produces a strength of its own. When Cornell University conducted a study on the effects of hope, Dr Harold G Wolff reported that people with hope can endure incredible burdens. One group comprised of twenty five thousand solders imprisoned during World War11, who were subjected to forced labour, bad food and filth, of which many died, while others showed only slight damage. Subsequent interviews with survivors revealed a far-above-average ability to hope! How were they able to keep their hope alive? It was discovered, By drawing pictures of the girls they planned to marry, designing their future homes and organising business management seminars. Hope not only kept them physically well, but mentally active and alert it kept them alive! This is why Paul describes hope in (Hebrews 6:19) as “A strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God Himself.” John Walker says, “I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I’ve dropped weight and put it back on. I’ve tried every diet and made up some of my own. I maintained a friendly battle with weight until I became extremely ill, and for a year was unable to walk any further than the mailbox. Needless to say I gained more weight than ever and found myself facing a huge challenge. I needed to loose more pounds than there are days in a month. With age nipping at my heels...it wasn’t as easy to drop the pounds as it used to be, and I found myself feeling hopeless – the kind of hopelessness that makes you think ‘what’s the use?’ I may as well not even try.” No doubt you can relate, not necessarily to the weight issue, but to the hopelessness. Maybe your in a stressful marriage, or facing health issues that have you thinking “What’s the use?” or in a frustrating job...or facing a difficult family situation...or wondering if you will ever get good enough grades to graduate...or dealing with the death of the most important person in your life. or struggling through so many failed attempts to have a child. Here’s the truth; We serve a God of Hope, and it’s a Hope that wont disappoint (us). It’s not based on feelings; It’s rooted in a relationship with the ONLY ONE who can be trusted above all others. “We wait together for this unseen hope, knowing the God of hope will not abandon or disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by The Holy Spirit.” We are not talking here about your love for God, but of His love for you. You see ...our relationship with God changes according to our moods and feelings, but not His. His love is always the same; deep, strong, constant and unchangeable in content. That means, when we pray with expectant Hope and trust, He will come through for us, even if it takes a bit of time because He is waiting for other matters or situations to line-up with His Will. Also timing is very important to God, Why? Because a gift given too early or too late is not appreciated and therefore, will not be recognised as such if the timing is wrong and the appropriate acknowledgement and gratitude will not be forthcoming. So pray, with expectant hope and trust, knowing that God will work for you, not for who you are, but for who He is,”The Fountain of Truth and reliability.” I haven’t counted them, but, I understand there are 3,573 promises in the Bible, that’s more than 10 promises for each day of the year. When you know which of those apply to your current circumstances and you fulfil the conditions that go with them, you can (according to John 15:7) literally begin to pray God’s promises into existence in your life. Will your prayer be answered overnight? Some will, others wont. But… as (Hebrews 6:12) tells us,“be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised”. The most powerful prayer you can pray is.. when you remind God of His promises.”Lord You promised in your word that you would… and today I am praying and believing you for it. Here is how to pray, “1. when you need Guidance and direction (Psalm 32:8) “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye. 2. When you need deliverance from a situation or to be set free from a habit. (Psalm 50:15) “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me.” 3. When you need the strength to stand: (Isaiah 41:10) “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will uphold you, with my righteous right hand.” 4. When you don’t have enough to meet your needs. (Philippians 4;19) “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If You spend time every day meditating in God’s Word, each time a need arises, you will know which one of His promises to claim in prayer. Read (2 Peter 1:4). When you begin to pray Scripturally-based prayers, you will get the answers you NEED. And here is Why Because, The Bible is God’s Word, and He always keeps His Word. Here is how to pray, 1. When you don’t have the answer (Jeremiah 33:3) “Oh God hear me as I pray Your Word as you gave it to Jeremiah your Prophet. “Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” 2. When you are worried and under stress, remind God of the promise He gave His beloved apostle John in (John 14:27) “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 3. When you need spiritual insight. (John 16: 13) “When He, The Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; And He will tell you things to come.” 4. When you need power for service (John 14:12-14) “He who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; And greater works than these will he do because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do...that The Father might be glorified in the Son. 5. (Ezekiel 34:26) When you need God’s blessing on your endeavours; I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; And I will cause showers to come down in their season; There shall be showers of blessing.” Once you see the results of praying God’s promises, you will never pray any other way. Thank you for reading these words on “Keeping Your Hope Alive”. Spiritual Hope only stays alive if it’s used with Faith, and Faith only stays alive by daily Scripture reading, understanding and meditating. Understand this God is not Santa Clause, or a Magic-man, No! He is God Almighty Who loves you with an everlasting love and wants you to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. And the only way that can be achieved is by you getting to know Him personally through The Bible. Please make a commitment to do that, even if only for a few minutes each day, you will be surprised at the results it produces in all areas of your life. Short prayers of HOPE will make you aware of God’s permanent presence and will give you immediate connection with Him anywhere at anytime. Because my sight is fading in these advancing years of my life I find my trust and faith-filled “Hope” are more necessary than ever, but you know what!!... my Hope filled prayers and blessings are also forthcoming and answered more quickly. So get in there and pray with spirit filled Hope, faith and trust, then watch God reward you for your confidence in Him. God Bless. Phaline. --------------------------------