ANNIVERSARY QUIZ

Mention 8 out of 10 committee member of 10th anniversary tagged D'MANIGLO. Send your answer to englishchapel.csmcottaroad@gmail.com or 08184552069. The first correct answer will win N1,000 recharge card regardless of your network. More to come

In all, be faithful

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FAIL?

What do you do when you fail — when you sin — as a child of God? Here are four precepts straight from God's Word that will give you understanding for your particular situation.

First, remember what Jeremiah wrote of Israel after her greatest failure and judgment — a judgment that led to the destruction of her temple and her holy city:

Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."(Lamentations 3:19-24) There is hope because God is God.

Second, recognize that God did not restrain you from failing either because you deserved to fail since you did not choose to obey Him, or because He wanted to teach you something, to cleanse you, make you more like Him. It is part of the discipline, the "child-training" of those who belong to the Lord. (Hebrews 12:11-13)

Third, if it is moral failure, do as David did in Psalm 51. Throw yourself on God's mercy, on God's grace. Cry...

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. (verse 1)

Say...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.... Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. (v. 10 and 12)

And from verse 13, know there is still a future for you (if not, He would simply take you home!).

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.

And finally remember...

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God. You will not despise. (v. 17)

Fourth, like the Apostle Paul who realized that he had not attained (he had not hit that measure of perfection), you need to say with him,

...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:13-14)

Those who keep looking back at their failures will never win the race set before them. We can evaluate where and how we failed for the purpose of learning and growing; however, the past is never to be our focus. If it is, it will cripple our future. As we look at failure, we need to understand why we fail and when we fail.

We fail when we try to do something we are not capable of doing, not gifted in or talented in. Therefore, it is important, as Romans 12:3 tells us, not to think more highly of ourselves than we should think. We need to take an honest and objective look at ourselves and recognize our limitations.

We also fail when we try to do it "our way," when we don't follow and live by God's precepts, His commandments, or when we think we are smarter than God, or don't need to involve God...this time. Multitudes are failing in their family lives, relationships, parenting, ministry and even in providing for their loved ones because they haven't studied God's textbook for life. Thus they do not know God or His ways. The will of God is discerned by knowing the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). We need to put ourselves on the altar and tell God He can direct us any way He desires. The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.

And closely connected to that point — we fail when we walk in presumption. Like the children of Israel in Numbers 14, some think all that is necessary is to confess that they have failed and then they can have it the way it would have been had they not sinned. When you choose to cheat, realize that you will eventually get caught — " ...be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

So having said all this, what do you do when you fail?

1. Run to God and ask Him why, if you do not know.

2. If God shows you that you failed because you erred or sinned, confess your sin or your failure. Name it for what it is. Then make it right with God and with man, if necessary. It helps to clear the air.

3. Throw yourself on God's mercy. Ask His counsel.

4. Remember the character of God. Remember His promises — cling to them. You have His promise if you cling. Psalm 119:31 says "I cling to your testimonies; O Lord do not put me to shame." The secret to recovering from failure is to continue to cling to your God. We are here to teach you to cling to Him...and not let go. I urge you to go deeper into His Word during remaining months in this year. Number your days, discipline yourself to be a man or a woman of the Lord. When the test, the trial or the temptation comes, you can overcome. "...This is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith" (1 John 5:4).

GOD, OUR PRAISE

Oh God, you know every blade of grass that grows, every sparrow that dies, every act and thought of the seven billion people here on earth. The hundred billion stars are yours and you made them, and you watch them, and the vastness of space and the countless galaxies, you know. You know our coming in and our going out, our thoughts and dreams and schemes, our countless little sins and lies, our kindnesses and our cruelties, our prayers and our curses.

Your knowledge is utterly beyond our comprehension, Lord. And yet, despite all of this, you have promised to know us, to be with us, to listen to us and help us and, if we only ask for it in the name of your Son, to forgive us when we offend you.
We praise you above all else, Mighty God; for the wonderment of your existence and the unfathomable size and complexity of your creation. And above all, our love and obedience are yours; We give them to you now and forever, in gratitude for your greatest gift, the sacrifice of your blessed Son, Jesus Christ


Thank you God for a new month.

DELIGHT IN BEAUTY OF HIS HOLINESS

When we praise and worship the Lord , we will experience victory in our battles.God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise and worship Him , His presence will descend among us and the presence of God will fill every situation that we are facing and we will experience certain victory in all our battles.When Jehoshaphat was a facing a great battle he proclaimed a fast and sought the Lord with all his people. The Lord heard their cry and promised them victory . Then Jehoshaphat sent singers and worshippers ahead of his army . As they praised and worshipped the Lord, the Lord caused the enemies to fight each other and destroy themselves. When we praise and worship the Lord in times of battle , the Lord will cause confusion in the camp of the enemy and make them destroy themselves. The Lord will grant us a glorious victory

OPENNESS

This is the one thing we desperately need the most, and the one thing we most resist. We need support. Some things in life are just too hard to do on your own. We need people to come along side of us and encourage us. Whether you are dieting, or exercising, or trying to change a bad habit in your life—we all need people in our lives to support us, encourage us, and to ask us some hard questions about whether we are really following through on our commitment to change. This is going to be hard when it comes to our finances.

• 82% of us have never discussed our income with another soul.

• 89% of us have never discussed our family budget with another person.

• 92% have never discussed what we have given to the church.

Get this: The people who are least likely in this country to talk about their personal financial matters are Christians.

People who rarely go to church—1 out of 4 of them admit that they have talked to their friends about how much money they make. Do you know how many Christians have done that? 1 out of every 8

Christians don’t talk about this. In fact, we don’t talk about a lot of stuff that really matters in our day to day lives: Sex, money, parenting, jobs. Let’s pop the top off our dirty little secrets and start holding each other accountable. Let’s start encouraging and edifying one another; life and money troubles are just too hard to go at it alone.

It is important in the spiritual life to keep an open mind, open to ideas, experiences, people, the world, and the Sacred. Openness is an ability to go with the flow, as Taoism puts it, without expecting predetermined outcomes. It means being receptive to new possibilities, without prejudging them. It is an ability to make yourself available to out-of-the-ordinary opportunities. Indeed, openness to the unknown, the exotic, and the bizarre is usually seen as the mark of a free spirit.

How available are you to others? How interested are you in people, especially those quite different from you? How flexible are you? Do you usually think you already know how things are going to come out? Are you willing to try something new? These are the questions to ask to assess your openness and to determine the benefits you might derive from this practice

WHY PEOPLE QUIT CHURCH?

Why do people leave church? This is the question I have heard discussed quite a bit recently with some of my friends both in the Church and office. I thought today’s youth of Cherubim and Seraphim Churches are only people leaving their church but it is a worldwide issues. A senior brother looks at the activities going on in the church and said; Brother, it is time to leave.

I got worried.

I started to search for more information then I got this write up by Benjamin L. Corey on WHY PEOPLE LEAVE CHURCH?

1. People leave church when they don’t find Jesus.

Church of all places should look like Jesus! Church should be a place where people are busy loving the unlovable, embracing the outcast, serving the widow, immigrant and fatherless. It should be a place where power is rejected, gender and race is irrelevant, and where the most coveted position is the position of servant.

I think we need to just start being honest with ourselves and admit that a lot of people reject our churches because they’re too interested in Jesus to accept a counterfeit version.

When I look at the story of Jesus, I am consistently moved by the way people were attracted to his personality. With the exception of religious conservatives, everyone longed to be around Jesus and went to great lengths and great risk to spend time with him. I am convinced that if we built loving communities of faith that were raw and authentic, that embraced the excluded, and were known by how well they loved others, there wouldn’t be an empty chair in the sanctuary.

2. People leave church because they feel lonely.

The feeling of being excluded, by definition, creates an intense loneliness. Being one of the only people living raw and authentically in a quest for community, is a lonely feeling. Being the one person who can’t, in good conscience, sign onto the same statement of faith that the group has, is a lonely feeling. Watching cliques form as an outsider, and watching people who rise to esteemed positions by way of church politics, is a lonely feeling.

People leave church because they start to feel like an outsider, and that makes them lonely. It is an emotion that is painful, powerful, and given enough time, unbearable. If leaving church is what’s needed to stop feeling so lonely and to stop feeling like an outsider– they’ll do it (and it would be the right decision).

 3. People leave church because they’re looking for something authentic.

The word authentic means: “not false, but real… therefore reliable and trustworthy”. Ironically, I can think of no more authentic message than the loving and very real message of Jesus.

However, the way we often live that out is far from authentic. In scripture we see authenticity being something God loves; my favorite characters in the Bible are the people who were raw and who told God exactly what was on their mind, minus a filter. These are the people, such as David, whom God calls “friend”.

Yet, church often becomes a place where you want to be anything but real. It’s just not safe to do so- especially with people who are busy pretending they have it all together but still seem to have enough time to be your worst critic.

People want to do church with people who are real, people who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable in relationship, and who are willing to sit beside you in the messiness of life. When church feels fake and like it’s not a safe place to be vulnerable, people leave in hopes they’ll find someplace that is.

 4. People leave church when they feel like they need to become a carbon copy of an individual or ideal in order to be fully included and appreciated.

During the times when I have found myself church shopping online, one of the first things I look at is the church’s statement of faith. This isn’t so much because I care about what they believe (although, I obviously do) but because I want to know if I’m going to be required to be a detailed copy of everyone else to be accepted. When I see a ten-page statement of faith the spells out everything from “Who is God” to “Why we believe the rapture will happen next Tuesday”, it tells me that there will be no room for me to live, breathe, or be my own person– my acceptance will depend on whether or not I am a carbon copy of everyone else.

People want to be who God made them– they don’t want to be a carbon copy of who God made you. When we feel forced to fit into a predetermined mold as to what a member of this community must look like, we leave (or in my case, I don’t ever go to begin with).

Most people don’t want to be like everyone else, and when a certain culture tells them they must become a clone as a condition of acceptance, many will leave instead of submitting to such a dehumanizing experience.

5. People leave church because of controlling leaders and unskilled teachers.

Leaders make or break an organization, and church is no different. When the pastor or church leader(s) come across as controlling (whether it is real or perceived) it creates an environment that doesn’t feel safe to people. No one wants to be controlled or dominated in church– not even the people who assimilate and eventually tolerate such environments. Instead, people want to feel heard and included in issues of decision making and long-term vision. Too often, it seems like the kids who are picked on in high school either become cops or pastors so that they can control other people- and they become increasingly intoxicated with their own perceived power. When people like me smell this, we bolt.

Likewise, you can have a church with a great community and a loving pastor– but a pastor who happens to be differently gifted outside the realm of preaching, and lose people. The longest 45 minute blocks in my life have been when I have been forced to sit and listen to a person fly the plane around the pulpit ten times, without ever landing. Bad preaching is miserable. If people feel like the preaching sucks, they’ll leave in search of something else. We need to make sure we place people in positions to serve in accordance with their abilities AND passions, not just their passions.

6. People leave church because of unresolved conflict.

As mentioned above, any community is going to have conflict. However, a healthy and life-giving community is one that practices healthy conflict resolution in order to keep relationships safe and whole. Some churches do a fantastic job at helping individuals reconcile their differences in loving ways which deescalate and restore, while others have skewed ideas of what reconciliation looks like. Too often, wounded people are told, or are caused to feel, as if their emotional response to being wounded is somehow wrong or sinful. We can be encouraged to “forgive and forget”, “get over it”, or even told we have “no right to feel that way”. We fail to realize that wounded people need to have their feelings validated, and need to have a place to air their hurts in a way that causes them to feel heard. If we want people to stop leaving church, we need to develop radical humility and become the peacemakers that Jesus claimed would be blessed.

7. People leave church because they need less drama in their lives.

 I don’t know about you, but my life always seems to have enough drama in it– I certainly don’t need anything that is going to add to the drama factor. So often, people seek out church because they need a reprieve, a refuge from the emotional drama of day to day living. However, far too often church relationships find a way to add to your drama. Now, I get that we’re all imperfect and that any group will have their own conflict, but some churches seem to do drama more than others. Our jobs, family dynamics and friendships provide us with enough opportunity to be gossiped about, back-stabbed, and pushed to the margins- we don’t need to add to that. Church needs to be a safe place where one can escape the typical relational drama we all face and instead experience loving support and acceptance. When church just becomes another area that is going to add drama to my life, I need to cut the cord and move on for my own sanity. Which leads me too…

8. People leave church when they can’t find community.

This is one of those reasons where it can serve as a reason why people come to church in the first place, and also becomes a reason why they leave– people want community. So many of us are tired of doing life on our own, tired of plastic American relationships, and are looking for deep, loyal, and authentic communal relationships. This should be a central goal of churches– building community. Why? Christianity was never meant to be lived out in the context of isolation, but rather in the context of community. When people can’t find community, can’t plug-in or access meaningful relationships, they split in hopes they’ll find it somewhere else. When a church learns to do community well, it is a life-giving experience. When churches fail to build community, church just becomes another item on your list that sucks the life out of you. I have experienced church both ways and can honestly say that I’m finished investing emotional energy into churches that don’t build a culture that values authentic community.

TODAY, TODAY,TODAY AND TODAY

Today is the most important day of my life. Yesterday with its successes and victories, struggles and failures is gone forever. The past is past. Done. Finished. I cannot relive it.  I cannot go back and change it. But I will learn from it and improve my Today.

Today, This moment, NOW, It is God’s gift to me and it is all that I have. Tomorrow with all its joys and sorrows, triumphs and troubles isn’t here yet. Indeed, tomorrow may never come. Therefore, I will not worry about tomorrow. Today is what God has entrusted to me. It is all that I have.  I will do my best in it. I will demonstrate the best of me in it—my character, giftedness, and abilities—to my family and friends, clients and associates. I will identify those things that are most important to do Today, and those things I will do until they are done. And when this day is done I will look back with satisfaction at that which I have accomplished. Then, and only then, will I plan my tomorrow, Looking to improve upon Today, with God’s help. Then I shall go to sleep in peace…content.

As I reflect on this poem, these are the questions that I ask myself:
• What have I learned today?
• Did I accomplish what was most important today?
• Did I give my best today?
• Have I been a good steward of the gift of today that God has given to me?

Following is an excerpt from my life plan and my personal vision for the important aspects of my life:

• Spiritual - Seek daily to live as a fully devoted follower of Christ
• Marriage - Translate my unconditional love for my wife into irrepressible actions that fulfill her “love languages”
• Children - Love and honor my children and do my best to raise them so that they become thriving adults and lifelong friends
• Ministry - Use my spiritual gifts and abilities to impact others and be a catalyst in other’s spiritual growth
• Relationships - Build healthy relationships with others for the purpose of sharpening and encouraging each other
• Career - Give my absolute best, be a leader worth following and seek to impact the lives of others
• Personal Growth - Seek to grow daily as a person and be committed to life-long learning
• Recreation - Live deliberately and fully enjoy each moment of life so that when I die I will have squeezed the most possible out of life and have no regrets
• Finance - Be a great steward and invest and give with incredible wisdom and generosity
  I’ve learned that the only way that I’ll be able to fulfill the above vision for my life is to be incredibly focused on maximizing each day.  So, are you maximizing each “today” that you have?
  
  We’d love to hear about how you are maximizing each day. Share with us below or on englishchapel.csmcottaroad@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing your best practices and learning from you.