Holy is the Lord

'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty.' Isaiah 6:3 When Isaiah saw God he wrote: 'In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"' (Isaiah 6:1-8 NIV). Now, this portion of Scripture wasn't intended to make you indulge in morbid introspection, or doubt your righteous standing before God as His redeemed child. Isaiah was the nation's leading prophet, and God had an assignment for him. But before he could undertake it, he needed to acknowledge his heart's condition and let God change him. And today you need to do that too!

Life in the Fasting Lane -Mazizi (Marathon Series)

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.         -(Matthew 6:16-18)


Fasting is not:

• A way for us to qualify for answers to prayer
• A hunger strike to manipulate God to do what we want
• Something done to show others how spiritual we are
• Something done by "super spiritual" people

Fasting is:

• A way in which we rid ourselves of distractions so we can focus entirely on God
• A way in which we become more aware of our dependence on God
• A way in which we submit ourselves entirely to God
• A way in which we intensify prayer and engage in spiritual warfare as we face "impossible" situations (e.g. Mark 9:14-29)
• A way in which we become more sensitive to God`s voice in our situation

There are several types of Fast:

1. Partial fast: you restrict your diet rather than abstaining completely
2. Normal fast: you abstain from all solid and liquid foods, but not from water
3. Absolute fast: you abstain completely from food and drink

Learning how to fast:

1. Start gradually: perhaps weekly with a partial fast then move to a one day normal fast
2. Ask God to protect your time and to strengthen your resolve
3. Declare your intention to someone else who will hold you accountable

Prayer and Fasting makes us sensitive to the Lord`s voice. It enables us to hear Him above the din of others voices around us. When you fast, expect to hear from God. Expect Him to reveal Himself to you in a greater way. Expect to receive specific instructions for your personal life. Expect Him to correct you and to show you things about the future.               -Linda Ochola

"Be Joyful in Hope" -Romans 12:12

Pastor Karan S Chauhan with his wife

'Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character.' Psalm 105:19 NLT 

God works according to His own timetable. And when you accept that, you'll be able to enjoy where you are right now and get to where He wants you to be. Furthermore, God may not answer all your questions; at least not in the way you'd like Him to. But be assured He is working. And since what He's working on is often bigger than you can comprehend, He won't bother you with details you can't handle. Think - if God had told you all the things you'd have to go through to get to where you are right now, could you have handled it? He knows how long it'll take and how hard it'll be - that's why He's silent. If He showed you your whole life in advance you'd faint. Joseph discovered during his time in prison that when God gives you a vision and you commit yourself to it, there's no 'opt-out clause.' So stop projecting into the future. When you live in yesterday you end up with a case of the 'if onlys,' and when you try to live in tomorrow you get a case of the 'what ifs.' Remember the popular hit song: 'One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking of you. Just give me the strength to do every day what I have to do. Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine. Lord help me today, show me the way, one day at a time.' What should you do? Trust God to work things out for you according to His timetable.

What's the greatest hurdle in multiplication and growth for most pastors you speak with?

Question: What's the greatest hurdle in multiplication and growth for most pastors you speak with?

Answer: The pastors themselves aren't as focused on evangelism and evangelistic growth. I don't think you can plant an evangelistic multiplying church unless you're an evangelistic multiplying individual. You can't lead what you don't live. In other words, the beginning challenge has to do with the planter. The subsequent challenge has to do with systems though. As your church gets larger, you need to build the appropriate systems at the 75, 125, and 200 barriers in order to support this in the life of your church. - Ed Stetzer.

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Don't waste your life in regret

'His mercies begin afresh each morning.' Lamentations 3:23 NLT Are you living with regret over the time you've wasted, the opportunities you've squandered, the sins you've committed and the relationships you've destroyed? Regret is a waste of time, unless it teaches you wisdom and fuels your resolve to do better next time. And as long as you're breathing, there will be a 'next time.' The Bible describes God this way: 'Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.' So how should you handle regret? By doing three things: 
(1) Recall. Stop and consider the actions, thoughts and emotions that drove you to do what you did. Take an honest inventory of your mistakes. Own them! There's no solution in excuses. When Adam was confronted with his sin, he hid in the bushes. When David was confronted with his, he said, 'I'm guilty before God.' Follow David's example. 
(2) Repent. The Bible says, 'Godly sorrow worketh repentance' (2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV). When you're caught in a cycle of repeated sin, a glib 'Now I lay me down to sleep' kind of prayer won't help you. Sin hurts God, hurts you and hurts others. The idea behind repentance is to get you to where you loathe sin, and decide to renounce and forsake it. 
(3) Refocus. One of the Bible's central themes is 'resurrection.' That means you can rise again. God said in His Word, 'But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I'm going to do!' (Isaiah 43:17-18 TLB). It's a new day with a new opportunity to get your life together and move on to greater things. Don't waste it looking back in regret!

Turn.Serve.Wait

You turned...from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven.' 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 NKJV Let's read what Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers: 'You became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe...from you the Word of the Lord has sounded forth...in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare...how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven' (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 NKJV). The lives of these believers could be summed up in three words: 'Turning ...serving...waiting.' Let's look at each, and see what we can learn. 

(1) Turning. Repentance means doing an about-face turn. It calls for renouncing and forsaking your carnal thought patterns and self-indulgent ways. 

(2) Serving. Try serving others rather than expecting them to serve you. At the end of each day, pray, 'Lord, how well did I serve You today?' For it's in serving others that you serve Him. 

(3) Waiting. If you knew for sure Jesus was coming back tomorrow, what would you do differently today? Would it change your habits, your words, your attitudes? Some of us live our lives as if Christ had changed His mind about coming back again. Make no mistake - He is! Don't be caught off guard. Endeavor to live each day in the light of His soon return. Doing that will rearrange your priorities!