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How Would Jesus Handle This? - March 1st Week - 2010, CURRENT ARTICLE

...Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12

Are you complaining because someone has disappointed you? Are you keeping score when it comes to gift-giving, initiating phone calls, or picking up the tab? Are you upset because you feel like you give more than you get? Jesus experienced all these things - and more. His closest friends let Him down. Those He called and counted on often proved to be unreliable and immature. They learned slowly and usually the hard way. One doubted Him, one denied Him, and one even betrayed Him.

Yet He forgave them and loved them anyway: '...having loved His own.. He loved them unto the end' (John 13:1 NASB). Jesus loved His friends not because they were worthy of His love, but because His love made them worthy. Love does that! In his book Knowing God, JI Packer writes, 'There is tremendous relief in knowing that God's love for me is based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst in me. No discovery can disillusion Him in the way I'm often so disillusioned about myself, or quench His determination to bless me. There is great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that others don't see. Indeed, He sees more corruption in me than I see in myself. Yet He wants to be my friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His son to die for me in order for me to realise this purpose.'

So before you react in anger, remember God's grace. Use His Son as your role model and ask yourself, 'How would Jesus handle this?'

Pastor Charity Kamau
Kenyan Community International Church
(206) 852-2024

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How To Have a Good Day - February 4 Week - 2010, CURRENT ARTICLE

..."without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

You can change the course of a day satan has negative plans for, by spending time with the Lord, especially when you sense any attitude or behaviour in yourself that's not Christ-like. Jesus said, '...without Me you can do nothing.' (John15:5 NKJV). On the other hand, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).

Negative feelings are like unwelcome house guests: the worst thing you can do is to invite them in. You may not be able to override them in your own strength, but if you seek God's help He will enable you to walk according to His ways, not by your negative emotions and perspective. 'But what if someone offends me?' The Bible says we're not to be oversensitive or easily offended. Actually we are commanded to forgive those who hurt us, not letting things fester. Sometimes we want to forgive and do what's right, but we find doing it difficult. More often than not, the right thing is the hard thing to do, not the easy thing. That's when you need to pray and allow God to talk to you through His Word. Only then will you find the strength to do the right thing.

Remember, you're in a war, and the battle begins the moment your eyes open each morning. To win, '...be strong in the Lord...Put on the whole armor of God...having girded your waist with truth...put on the breastplate of righteousness...having shod your feet with...the gospel of peace...taking the shield of faith...And take the helmet of salvation...the sword of the Spirit...praying always...in the Spirit...speak boldly...' (Ephesians 6:10-20 NKJV).

Pastor Charity Kamau
Kenyan Community International Church
(206) 852-2024

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Are You Bearing Fruit? - February 1st Week - 2010,

...the fruit of the Spirit... Galatians 5:22-23
Notice three things about fruit:

First, fruit is visible. Remember the 'show and tell' method of learning in school? James writes: '...Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works' (James 2:18 NKJV). It's not enough to 'talk a good game,' you must 'live it' before others every day.

Second, fruit reflects the character of the tree on which it grows. If it's an apple tree it's going to produce apples The more you submit your life to Christ, the more like Him you'll become.

Third, fruit is always borne for someone else's benefit. You'll never see fruit chewing on itself, or saying, 'I don't want to be picked.' Good fruit makes someone hunger and reach for it.

The Holy Spirit wants to produce fruit in you so that others can feed off you and be nourished. In contrast, all deeds of the flesh are selfish. The flesh says, 'You made me mad. I'm not happy. You have what I want. You are irritating me.' But the fruit of the Spirit is Christ-centred and others-centred. Notice, the word 'fruit' is singular, even though Paul lists nine different kinds of spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, but they all come from the same tree. This tree can produce everything you need for every area of your life. You don't have to go to the Holy Spirit for peace, and some other place for love. Or go to the Holy Spirit for patience, and somebody else for self-control. It's all on the Spirit's tree. So, are you bearing fruit?

Pastor Charity Kamau
Kenyan Community International Church
(206) 852-2024

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Being Ready - January 4th Week - 2010,

Be dressed ready for service... Luke 12:35

God can move so quickly that one day it feels like all hell has broken loose in your life, and the next, like you're seated in heavenly places. And in both instances: '...it is God which worketh in you...' (Philippians 2:13 KJV). The Bible uses words like straightway, immediately, and suddenly to remind us that when God moves we must be ready to move too. He doesn't announce it with trumpets and a fanfare so you must stay prepared, especially for something you've been waiting for a long time. You may be just a moment away from the answer you've been seeking.

That's all the time it takes God to change things; a moment! Don't let discouragement dull your faith or procrastination steal your opportunity. Referring to His second coming, Jesus said, 'Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house' (Matthew 24:17KJV). You've got to decide whether you're going to accept what God has for you now and move forward, or return to your house, because your unfinished business can cause you to miss God's best. And so can waiting for others.

A paralysed man missed his healing for thirty-eight years because he waited for others to act. He told Jesus: '...I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up...' (John 5:7 NKJV). For years he sat beside the solution, but others caused him to miss it. Nothing is more important than what God is saying and doing in your life right now: not what's going on in your house, not the actions or opinions of others. What matters is being ready. Are you ready?

Pastor Charity Kamau
Kenyan Community International Church
(206) 852-2024

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