VALUE

By:

Abed Montshiwa, Proud Motswana currently persuing a Master degree in Urban construction and Environmental Engineering in Chongqing, China - Dawn Cometh Team Member

VALUE

‘The stone that the builders rejected became the corner stone’

Evident enough, Jesus was a story teller and I was thinking how about taking a moment of refreshment and tell a story. We have been discussing deep issues, frankly speaking, more serious kind of stuff, which many times than not always end with self introspection! am I doing it right? Am I a real good lad? For today, lets say, we need a break and lets gather by the fire side, have some coffee, pop corns , unfold our stretchers, lean back and enjoy ourselves. Oh, by the way it will be pleasant if couples, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters take a moment to just socialize and yeah, questions and discussions will be allowed! You got it right, be free to stop him and have facts clear. Here we go!

With a population of around 111 million people Mexico is known as a tourism hub the world over, each year, millions of people fly to this magnificent tourism center on vacation and leisure. But apart from tourism, it is known to have some of the wisest man in human history, and the story centralizes around our great grandfather Rodrick (not his real name) to share with us the story he likes the most. He starts...

‘When paper money was invented, people were just fascinated at the idea. Many people sold their assets just to get a handle of this well inscribed piece of a processed wood! However, since the idea was new, people, myself included struggled to conceptualize the whole thing’ The old Rodrick has just started. ‘So, during those confusing years of international trade revolution, people thought that a new note, had more value than an old one, let me explain, we thought a new $10 was more valuable than an old $10 note and everyone wanted to posses new notes! You can imagine the fiasco and drama that took place as everyone wrestled with any financial institutions when given old rugged notes’ continued grandpa. Oh...before he continues let me make an announcement, I hear that corns are ready and the coffee is on the offer, please help yourselves guys. Back to you granny. ‘Everything became stagnant, people held tightly to new notes, and that crippled trade. Actually, the world economy suffered a clear sign of ignorance until more light was shared to people and they opened up and as they say the rest is history, money is money. Value, as we know is the same among notes of the same wavelength; therefore value is a function of the label depicted on the note. I will cut the story short fellas because I have to sleep. This body is tired, but let me communicate the moral of this story’ said our man of the moment.

‘I don’t know what note you are, May be you are a new note, or an old one. May be you have exchanged many hands, with some of your custodians been rough. You might have been abused, bruised, emotionally and otherwise. People may be by- passing you in search of so called new notes. You are probably greasy, dirty and scratched but one thing is true. Your value does not change as you get bruised! You can change in appearance as you are malnourished and in hunger. You may be depressed because he left you for Lina, you may be degraded because your marriage is falling apart. Despite your effort to integrate in the community, you remain a social reject! But I have good news for you today, you posses the same value as that most sought after sister. You deserve as much good as everyone. You are a peculiar generation, made in the image of God, for His purpose and in His will. You can buy anything anyone can buy! We don’t throw an old note, do we? Don’t listen to their lies anymore! Tell them, it’s all about value than appearance or history! Better tell them, may value label will change from single digit to more than 5 digits soon!

It's all about Relationship!

By: Becca- Bluett Duncan, UK

More about Becca:

Becca is a 23-yr-old newly qualified speech and language therapist , passionate for Jesus. She lives in Leeds, UK. She’s been involved in few youth ministries recently. She's the 'student worker' for her Local Church at the moment. She likes to dance, and writes beautifully on her own blog!:) http://www.findingflapjack.blogspot.com/

The other day I was reading some chapters of Isaiah. The last thing I expected to find was the gospel story. Prophecies of a Messiah, yes, but I always thought it came in pieces like a jigsaw. Then in one chapter I found the entire gospel story!

It all begins in Isaiah 59:1-2.

1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,

or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

2 but your iniquities have made a separation

between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden his face from you

so that he does not hear.

There is no limit to our God’s power. But mankind’s sin has put up a huge barrier between us and Him. I love the sentiment of this verse, I can almost imagine God saying, “I didn’t put up this barrier, I didn’t want it! I want to reach out my arm to save you; I want to listen to and converse with you; but your sins are forcing you away from me.” A God who loves his people.

The rest of the chapter (read the whole thing here) goes on to list all of the terrible things that the people are doing that break God’s heart and cause the separation. In verse 15, God steps in. He sees that there is no man who is pure enough to bridge the gap so he himself steps onto the scene to bring salvation. Verse 16 says:

16 He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no one to intercede;

then his own arm brought him salvation,

and his righteousness upheld him.

Down comes that strong arm to save, in spite of all our sin. God is reunited with his children. The chapter finishes with promise of a Redeemer and a Spirit that will never leave His people, or their descendants, ever.

What I love so much about this is that God said it 700 years before Jesus ever came on the scene! This is no last-minute plan. Isaiah 43:11-12 says

11 I, yes I, am the LORD,

and there is no other Saviour.

12 First I predicted your rescue,

then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.

No foreign god has ever done this.

You are witnesses that I am the only God,”

says the LORD.

For centuries, millennia, God has been talking about his plan to reunite himself with us. It’s all about Relationship.

Paul reminds us that we were still dead in our sins when Jesus died for us- not the holy and righteous ones we are today (Romans 5:8). Isaiah 43:25 tells us that God blots out our sins for His own sake- because He wants to!

How unknowable is that, that a divine God who created everything and has need of nothing, would choose to limit himself, come down to earth as a man in order to suffer and die, to save a race who had only rejected and separated themselves from him, in order that we might have a renewed relationship with him (Eph 1:4-5). Wow.

It’s all about relationship!
Becca

HUMILITY=HONOUR

BY: GLORIA TLOU
Follower and Friend in Trinidad

Ms Gloria Tlou is a young woman with full of energy for the things of God. She is currently living in Trinidad where she is reading for Degree in dentistry. Her passion is to be involved in charitable works by reaching to underprivileged; she’s currently a member of the society with particular interests on orphans.

2 Kings 5

1Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 2And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. Read the whole chapter.

Many times as people we never expect anything good to come out of the people that are not recognized in society. In today’s world, class is so much a part of people that some lose the sense of whom they really are because they chase so much after stature. The bible describes Naaman as a man of valour, he was recognized in society and honourable BUT he was sick. His maid though a person of low status in society she was a person who knew something greater than he did, she knew the God of Elisha, the God that heals.

The bible continues to tell us that Naaman was told to go and deep himself seven times in the river Jordan but because he was a man of stature he wanted the prophet Elisha to meet with him, to recognize that he was a might man. He didn’t just want to receive the word and do as it said but he wanted to be honored by the prophet’s presence. The messenger meeting him was not enough for the great Naaman. His pride was standing in the way of him receiving healing.

The bible tells us that so many did not believe anything good could come out of Jerusalem; Jesus was after all a carpenter’s son and how can He stand and say He is the Messiah. I guess they wanted to be graced by the presence of a certain type of a god that they had created in their minds as the Messiah. I guess the Messiah in their minds was all glitz and glamour!!!!!!So many times we miss the blessing of God because we are busy focusing on the messenger not the message. We don’t receive because we are so proud. Humility is an attitude of appreciation and God wants us to make it a part of our lives.

There is a saying that one’s attitude determines their altitude. Even with God your attitude will determine how far you go with Him. God does not seek the pride. The bible tells us that pride comes before a fall. Proverbs 16:18.We must not look at someone or something and think less of them, whether we know them or not or give honor to ourselves and think we are better than everybody else. Proverbs 29: 23.In the eyes of God we are all equal. The bible also tells us not to despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10).

So many have missed an opportunity to walk, sit and eat with Christ while he walked on earth because of their pride. They refused to be seen worshipping or believing that a commoner could be the bearer of the life changing message and the savior of the world. They rejected the cornerstone of the church, the head of the church of God…the Messiah and what an opportunity that was! Brethren let us be humble in all that we do and let us know that the container of a substance might be the first thing we see but the essence of the substance is not changed by the container. The value we have as human beings is not added to us by our outward look but by He that lives in us. A diamond does not lose its value just because it is hidden in the ground, it will always be a diamond!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, let us put aside our pride looks and know that honor comes from God and Him alone. Let us not let the Lord pass us by because our lives are so full of pride that He cannot use us. In everything we do the glory goes to God.

Be blessed.

Gloria T.