TRUST AND CONTENTMENT- 2013 Lent Meditations,

Today's (February 23, 2013) theme of our Devotion is "TRUST AND CONTENTMENT".

"Quiet Trust in God is the basis of our Contentment" observes King David in Psalms 131. A quiet trust in God can only come if one submits or surrenders oneself to God. You do not achieve contentment in life because you think you can be friends to the world and God at the same time. You cannot be a friend of the world and be a friend of God.  St James explains this better in his letter, James 4:1-8

" What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?  But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

What do you need to do in order to be a friend of God? you may ask: The bible is clear: 

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10)

God's Blessing!

By Rev Aba Mpesha,

JUMAPILI HII IWE YA KUMSHUKURU MUNGU

BINADAMU NA MAISHA YA BAADAE MBINGUNI

Meditations during 2013 Lent By Rev Aba Mpesha

Day 1: February 14, 2013

True Faith transforms our thoughts as well as our conduct.

Today is Valentine day, which is celebrated in many parts of the world. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories of its patron saint, St. Valentine, all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and – most importantly – romantic figure.

He knew that although we cannot earn our salvation by serving and obeying God, such actions show that our commitment to God is real (James 2:14-17). James was speaking against those who confuse mere intellectual assent with true faith. True faith bears good fruits!

I pray that this Lent season will be a spiritual awakener for all of us, and that even if one does not formally observe it, there will be time taken to think about the significance and the meanings behind our faith, which can be exhibited through sympathetic, heroic and being each others’ keeper. It is then people will know us (CHRISTIANS) by our LOVE.

Before you go to bed tonight, please remember to really and truly engage and embrace the call to self examination, repentance and remembrance of what Christ did for you and what He wants you to do for others.

Be Blessed by Jesus!

Please remember to come to our monthly fellowship meeting on Sunday, February 17, 2012 at 4:00 pm at St Michael Lutheran Church, Portage. Tamigamiga Group from Canada will sing for the glory of God!

Aba Mpesha

THE MASSAGE FOR LENT 2013

DEALING WITH DIFFICULTY PERSONALITIES?

Tips questions about dealing with difficult people:

·         Can you recall the last time you had to deal with a negative or difficult person?

·         Or the last time someone said something with the intention of hurting you? How did you handle it?

·         What was the result? What can you do in the future to get through these situations with peace and grace?

·         It is true that wherever we are going we will face people who are negative and who will oppose what you think it is right.

·         How can we handle negative situation when it happens?

·         Why we need to be careful when we are dealing with negative people or negative issues?

The Bible gives us some practical guidelines for managing difficult people. The first is found in Matthew 18:15-17 and Ephesians 4:15. Both of these passages instruct us to confront difficult people privately and in love. Take the initiative; but in doing so, be sure you are fair, firm and friendly.

According to the Bible the way to deal with difficult people is to love them, pray for them, expect to give rather than to receive, maintain a humble spirit, and relate to them in patience and kindness.

The Bible also cautions us that we also need to examine ourselves before judging others by praying for the Spirit’s power to change our own hearts and minds toward the difficult person and enable us to see them as needing the same love, grace and mercy that God extended toward us.

We have a clear example of Jesus forgave the men who were going to kill him, as we read in Luke 23:34-39. The way to deal with difficult people, then, is to practice Christ’s humility and love. That kind of response is both edifying to us and pleasing to the Lord. Pope John Paul II Demonstrating with his personal deeds, he visited the man who attempted to kill him and forgave him for his wrong doing. He exhorted the faithful to be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful. So what about us do we always utilize this merciful tool in our life towards difficult people?

If in our life we don’t do that what we create is holding grudge what does this means in our life, it is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. But we forget that the only person we hurt is ourselves. When we react to negativity, we are disturbing our inner space and mentally creating pain within ourselves.

Why people initiate negativity, it looks like it is a reflection of their inner state expressed externally and sometimes because our ego likes problems and conflict. People are often so bored and unhappy with their own lives that they want to take others down with them.

As I have explained before that when we are in a negative state or holding a grudge against someone, we don’t feel very good. We carry that energy with us as we go about our day. When we don’t feel very good, we lose sight of clarity and may react unconsciously to matters in other areas of our lives, unnecessarily.

We can run away from the truth that we are humans after all, and we have emotions and egos. And we need to understand that Negative people can be a source of energy. When you find yourself identifying with emotions and thoughts, bring your focus on your breath.  Need to remember that when we are  dealing with difficult people, don’t try to change the other person; you will only get into a power struggle, cause defensiveness, invite criticism, or otherwise make things worse. It also makes you a more difficult person to deal with.

Therefore lowering your expectations of people will make you more comfortable with difficult as James 1:19-20: said that "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God" 

Ash Wednesday 13, marking the beginning of Lent (Kwaresima),

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Today, February 13, 2013 is Ash Wednesday,  marking the beginning of Lent (Kwaresima), a 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.    

I thought it would be important to be reminded ourselves what LENT means. I would encourage those of you with young stars in our families to share this short explanation to them. 

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

This practice is common in much of Christendom, being observed mainly by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, alms-giving, and self-denial. This purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week (starting on Palm Sunday March 24, 2013), marking the death and Resurrection of of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which recalls the events of the the Bible when Jesus is crucified on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Sunday, March 31, 2013).

Please let use this time of Lent to Meditate on God's Word, Praying and Fasting. I have personally found this practice very fulfilling in my Christian journey. 

We are reminded in the Word of God as written in Matthew 4:1-11 that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and when the devil tempted Him three times, Jesus did not yield into temptation because He had the strength, which could be traced to  "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry" (Matthew 4:1-2)

May you experience God's Blessing as you enter this Lent period.

Please remember to come for our monthly fellowship meeting on Sunday, February 17, 2012 at 4:00 pm.

Rev.Aba Mpesha.

4198 Packard St, Apt#3

Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Phone: 616 884 8143

Email:abampesha1@gmail.com