Reflections

Have You Asked?

June 7, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

²You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2 New International Version

One of my favorite hymns is What a Friend We Have in Jesus. There is a verse that says we are to bring everything to God in prayer. Too often we do not follow this advice. We get upset about what we lack and do not rejoice in what we have. Many times this attitude can lead to coveting what others have and envy. As James says we kill and covet but we cannot have what we want.

We are to take everything to God in prayer. All our needs and desires. When we take things to God in prayer He will give us wisdom. Many times we lack because we do not ask God. Are you in need of money? Then ask God. Don’t covet and plot how you are going to get yours. Don’t lust after things. By asking God, God will show us the way. He will bless us to be a blessing to others. Also, God will search our hearts and check our motives. He will know whether the thing that we want will really be of a benefit or a stumbling block in our walk.

When we put God above everything, then He will give us the desires of our hearts. By making God first His desires become our desires. What He wants for us is what we will want for ourselves. In this there is no room for lust, envy or covetousness.

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Stop Judging

June 4, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

¹²So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Romans 14:12-13

Today I was listening to a program by a man doing a bible study. In the study he was picking apart the teaching of the gospel by certain groups of people who say we live in the age of grace. I didn’t fully understand what the man was discussing but he spent most of his time criticizing others and nitpicking their teachings.

As Christians we are very quick to judge others. It seems so instinctive to criticize and judge our brothers instead of encouraging, or edifying them. By judging them we actually put stumbling blocks in their way.

We don’t have to fret, everyone will give an account to God. We are to love, encourage, and build each other up. It doesn’t mean we ignore sin. However, we should not spend our time finding fault with others and criticizing them for it. Imagine if God did that? Then who could stand before Him? Remember we are to be Christ like. After all we are Christians.

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Prophesy

June 2, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3

When we think of prophets we often think of those who predict the future or say “Thus says the Lord…”. Prophesy in the church today is meant for strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. Prophesy is not meant to speak about the doom and gloom of the coming world.

In the Old Testament prophets spent a lot of time in the presence of God and would tell the people what God was saying. Today when we spend time in God’s presence especially in praying for others, God will also give us messages to tell others in a matter to strengthen, encourage, and comfort. So when God does give us a word for someone we should be eager to share that word.

However, many people wander if they are hearing from God. If it is a word that will strengthen, encourage, or comfort someone then it is a prophetic word. But in all we do as Christians we should ensure that the words we speak are for people’s encouragement and comfort and never to tear someone down. So the next time you see your brother or sister just prophesy a word to them. Your words may bring someone strength, encouragement, and comfort.

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In All Your Ways

June 1, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

    5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding.
    6In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

There is a saying “the devil is in the details.” The question we should ask ourselves is: “Do we acknowledge God in every detail of our life?” Many people know the above verses and quote them a lot. The proverb is very important and we should fully embrace it.

This scripture encourages us to always trust in God and to acknowledge Him in all our ways. That means whatever situation we are in, whatever decisions we need to make, whenever we need direction we should always acknowledge God first. By acknowledging God, He will direct our steps. God will give us wisdom about decisions and help in situations. He will also give us answers to our problems. All we have to do is acknowledge Him.

Many times we do not acknowledge God out of fear. We fear what He might say or tell us no to something we desire. We should never put fear above trusting God. He knows what is best for us and only what is best for us. When we involve God in every detail of our life we are telling Him how much we trust Him and need Him. God wants us to be dependent upon Him and not ourselves. God never intended for us to be apart from Him, but to be a part of Him and He a part of us. Remember with God all things are possible.

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Fasting

May 28, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wildernessto be tempted by the devil.

²And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

³And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

⁴But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” Matthew 4: 1-4

Fasting can be one of the most difficult disciplines in our Christian walk. Jesus had a lifestyle of fasting and prayer. Fasting is not an act we do just to impress God. Fasting should be utilized to allow ourselves to focus more on God and put our flesh under submission.

Fasting should be part of our lifestyle. Jesus did it and the early church fasted and prayed. Fasting should not be done apart from prayer. The two go together. If you fast without prayer or spending quiet time before the Lord, then you are just starving yourself.

People fast from certain meals, for a day or more. Extended fasts like the one Jesus did for 40 days should only be done when led by the Holy Spirit. These types of Fasts cannot be accomplished apart from the Holy Spirit. Any type of total food fasts beyond three days should be guided by the Holy Spirit.

We should not see fasting as a way to impress God or get God to do something for us. Often times our flesh can get our focus off of God, so by fasting we are depriving our flesh of something it desires and putting it under submission to the Holy Spirit.

So when you do fast try to set time apart for God; more time than you would on a regular day. For instance, if you are fasting from food then use the time you normally spend preparing and making meals to pray and spend time in the bible. Also, fasts do not have to be abstaining from food, but it can include an activity that takes up a lot of your time and giving that time up to spend with God.

Fasting really benefits us more than it does God. It helps us to be focused and able to hear from God more clearly. Fasting can also prepare us for work God is calling us to do like Jesus. Before Jesus started His ministry the Holy Spirit led Him to the wilderness to be tempted. After this Jesus started His ministry to the people.

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A Special Message

May 26, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

I want to thank all of my readers for your support and following my blog. I’m sorry that I have not been able to post blogs more frequently the past month. I took some time to just focus back on God.

My plan has been to try and do 5-6 blogs a week. So again I apologize for the infrequency of the blog posts since the beginning of April. Also, I do enjoy comments I receive and encourage you to continue with the comments. Just so you know that when you post a comment it has to be approved by me before it will show up on the blog to prevent spammers. I do approve the comment as soon as I see it in my email account. A delay usually means I have not checked my email. Please keep the comments coming and I also try to respond to all comments. Discussions can really make the blog a lot more interesting. So please never be afraid to post comments.

Starting tomorrow I plan on publishing 5-6 blogs a week. Again thank you so much for your support and encouragment. My goal is that each blog will bless you the way it has blessed me. The scriptures are the living word and give us life, builds our faith, and helps us to understand the Kingdom of God more and more.

God Bless You,

Pastor Anna Mangeni

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The Righteous Exalt a City

May 18, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down. Proverbs 11:10-11

There are many who are not pleased with the direction of this country. Polls show that most Americans are disappointed with their elected officials and the President. Congress has the lowest rating, and just about half the country approves what the President is doing. People blame the problems of the country on the government and believe by electing new people the country would be in better shape.

The bible teaches that it is the righteous that exalt a nation. If a nation or our cities are suffering then we have to look to ourselves. The above Proverb states that when the righteous are doing well and being blessed the city rejoices and is exalted. So when we are blessed the places we live will be blessed.

God expects the righteous to walk in His ways and to live Holy lives set apart from God. The righteous will cause a city to excel, rejoice, and be exalted. So when we see our nation suffering and our communities in trouble then we need to look and examine ourselves. Are we doing all God has called us to do? Are we walking by faith and not by sight? Do our lives reflect the world or do they reflect Christ?

God intends for the righteous to be a city on a hill whose light shines and points the lost to the Lord. We are to be a blessing and not a curse. We are to represent heaven on earth and not simply be a reflection of the world we live in. For when it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices.

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Job is Restored

May 13, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

¹⁰The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.

¹²The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.

13He had seven sons and three daughters.

14He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.

15In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.

16After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

17And Job died, an old man and full of days. Job 42:10, 12-17

God was upset with Job’s friends because they had not spoken well of God the way Job did. So God said that He would accept Job’s prayer on their behalf and would not deal with them according to their folly. Job prayed for his friends and when he did God restored everything that Job had lost – giving him a double portion.

Job was more blessed in his later years and got to live a long life. He was so wealthy that he was even able to leave his daughters an inheritance which was not common. God had truly blessed Job.

In the story of Job we are never given the reason why God allowed Satan to destroy all that Job had and make him sick in his body. It was not because of any sin that Job committed. God said from the beginning that Job was a righteous man that feared God and shunned evil. We do know that in the end God restored everything Job had lost. God was able to show that Job was a man of integrity and did not only seek God for his possessions. Job was also a changed man. Prior to all that happened, Job only knew God by what he heard. Now Job had seen God and experienced God’s blessings. Job now knew that everything that he had was a result of the goodness of God and not based on anything Job achieved.

Job’s encounter with God changed his life and his circumstances. The same is true for us. When we have a real encounter with God it will change us for the better. We should not just be satisfied in knowing God based on what we just hear but we should diligently seek God and desire to spend time in His presence. It should be our daily act of worship to spend face to face time with God.

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Job Repents

May 11, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

1Then Job answered the LORD and said,
²“I know that You can do all things,
    And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
   “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
    Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
   ⁴‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
    I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
   ⁵“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
    But now my eye sees You;
   ⁶Therefore I retract,
     And I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6

Job had said things about God based on things he did not understand. Job did not understand why he suffered the way he did. He thought he knew it all and knew God well. Job based what he knew on what he had heard about God. When God finally answers Job and declares His glory, Job realizes that he really did not know God. Job sees God’s glory and how wonderful He is. Even though Job has heard about God now Job has seen God. So Job repents and changes his mind about God.

Many of us base our beliefs about God on what we have heard. Churches even religions have based their doctrines and theologies on things they have heard and believed. Many of us need an encounter with God like Job. Job was reminded of God’s majesty and glory. God never answered Job’s questions, God simply showed Job who He was.

We may not know why we suffer, or why tragedy or calamity comes into our life. God does not always give the answer. What we can know is that God is God and there is no one like Him. He is the one that sets everything in motion and in place. He is the creator of all. Even Satan is subject to God.

Job did not suffer because of sin. We don’t really know why God allowed Satan to do the things he did to Job. We can take comfort in knowing that God was always in control of Job’s life. God never stopped loving Job and Satan was not able to snatch Job out of God’s hand. God has us in His hands and He will never let us go no matter what happens in our life. We may not have all the answers or fully understand the “why” in life but God is always there holding us up even in the times of trouble.

In the time that Job saw God his circumstances no longer seemed important. God was bigger and better. It is the same with us. Whatever you are going through God is bigger and better. The best is yet to come.

Posted in God's Glory, Job, Knowing God | Leave a Comment »

God Alone Justifies

May 7, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

7″Why do the wicked still live,
         Continue on, also become very powerful?
    8″Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
         And their offspring before their eyes,
    9Their houses are safe from fear,
         And the rod of God is not on them. Job 21: 7-9

⁶Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said,
    7″Now gird up your loins like a man;
         I will ask you, and you instruct Me.
    8″Will you really annul My judgment?
         Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?
    9″Or do you have an arm like God,
         And can you thunder with a voice like His?
    10″Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
         And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
    11″Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
         And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.
    12″Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
         And tread down the wicked where they stand.
    13″Hide them in the dust together;
         Bind them in the hidden place.
    14″Then I will also confess to you,
         That your own right hand can save you. Job 40: 6-14

Earlier Job complained that God had turned His anger on Job when Job did nothing wrong. Job also complained that God seemed to let the wicked prosper. Job argued that he was justified because he always did what was right, and God had no justification for “punishing” Job.

So God asks Job if he discredits God’s judgment. Why does Job condemn God to justify himself? God then asks Job if he is like God, can Job bring down the wicked, if so, and then God will admit that Job can save himself.

Job’s justification is not reliant on his works but solely rests on who God is. God is the only one who can bring a proud man low and judge the wicked. We are never justified by our works but by our faith in God. God counted Job righteous because of Job’s faith in God. Job feared God and shunned evil. Job counted all of his good works and thought he was justified based on what he had done and how he stayed away from evil. Job thought God was unjust since he believed God turned on him without cause.

God demonstrates His glory and power to Job and shows Job that God is just and no one is like Him. All creation is subject to God, and God deals with creation according to His will and purpose. God can show mercy to whomever He wants including the wicked. It is God alone that justifies man.

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