DON’T EXCEED YOUR LIMIT

 “Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.” - Elbert Hubbard

In 1982, "ABC Evening News" reported on an unusual work of modern art--a chair affixed to a shotgun. It was to be viewed by sitting in the chair and looking directly into the gun barrel. The gun was loaded and set on a timer to fire at an undetermined moment within the next hundred years. The amazing thing was that people waited in lines to sit and stare into the shell's path! They all knew the gun could go off at point-blank range at any moment, but they were gambling that the fatal blast wouldn't happen during THEIR minute in the chair. Yes, it was foolhardy, yet many people who wouldn't dream of sitting in that chair live a lifetime gambling that they can get away with sin. Foolishly they ignore the risk until the inevitable self-destruction.

It is foolhardy to be caught sitting on the fence in our Christian walk: we do no one good by being indecisive, it is better we chose now where we want to be, than to be undecided.

BE COURAGEOUS

“An open heart has greater power than a clenched fist.” - Matshona Dhliway

Rod Crowell writes for CBS Affiliate KDKA Channel 3, Philadelphia, reports of an unusual Christmas disturbance. Local resident Alan McCutcheon was busy putting up his Christmas lights on his home, when suddenly his ex-girlfriend, Mary Jo Smith, came barreling through his yard in her car. She made several tours through the yard screaming “Merry Christmas,” all the while Christmas carols blasted from her cranked radio through her open windows. At one point, she even took aim (thankfully, unsuccessfully) to run McCutcheon over. “She proceeded to do a pretty significant amount of damage to the outside of the residence,” Stefani Lucas with Pennsylvania State Police told CBS Pittsburgh.

Live is a combination of many things: decisions, experiences, choices and attitudes. We frequently hear of talks, seminars or even sermons about steps to success,

THINK BACK FOR A MOMENT

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Jeff Dixon said “Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!” And Melody Carlson, in Faded Denim: Colour Me Trapped says, ”Instead of thanking God for my two strong legs that are able to run and jump and climb, I whined about my "thunder thighs" and "thick" ankles. Instead of rejoicing that I have two capable arms that can lift and carry and balance my body, I complained about the flab that hung beneath them. I have been totally and unbelievably ungrateful for everything.”

 

God is a mighty God: nothing is impossible with Him. He can move mountains, make the sun stand still and heal the sick. In Joshua, we see how He completed the mighty task of bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land. He led Israel out of slavery into freedom: just as He’d promised. He did not want the Israelites

AGENTS OF HOPE

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” - Helen Keller

From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I'll help pay the college tuition for every one of you." At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, "I had something to look forward to something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” As a drink of cold water is to the parched throat of a

KNOW FOR YOURSELF

"I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance." – Reuben Blades 

There is a frightening rumour about a current investment scheme making the rounds. This rumour is capable of causing serious unrest, and panic. Matter of fact, a young man has been weeping profusely as a result. He sold his family property, and invested the proceeds into the scheme expecting to make some profit before he's expected to release the proceeds to his family at Christmas. This young man is in a dilemma now because he has been told the scheme has crashed.

Out of curiosity, some people went to find out the real situation of things about this scheme. From their investigation, it was revealed that the investment scheme

QUAILS

“If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles.” – Wayne Dyer

If you follow the Israelites’ story closely, you will find many revelations, testimonies and deep messages that we can apply to our lives today as individuals – or as a nation. The Children of Israel were a people in difficult situation in Egypt, they needed a change. Hopes had been lost. Situations looked bleak. But, from nowhere Moses shows up in the scene: he had been sent by God, to set them free. How likely was that to be true? Well, to cut the long story short Moses got them out of Egypt, yet things got worse. There were obstacles – hunger and thirst – everywhere. At some point they even thought they’d die.

Panic, uncertainty, and fear broke out. How were they to survive in the wilderness? They desired a way out of their difficult situation. It got so bad at some point they cried for meat, garlic and onions. The point in all this is, God provided. We’re told that God

Yes, YOU still can!

FBI AGENTS

"Don't give up! It's not over. The universe is balanced. Every set-back bears with it the seeds of a come-back." - Steve Maraboli

Whew! It was just like yesterday when we all screamed in joy, hugged each other and danced to celebrate the New Year, 2016. Well, that year isn't so new anymore: matter of fact it's rounding off anytime soon. With the begining of 2016 came plans, desires, goals, dreams and aspirations. Soon after January 1st, that's where the rubber hit the road, and everyone soon became busy...all trying and aspiring to have their dreams fulfilled.

Well this is the end of the year, how many of those aspirations you had at the begining of the year, have you been able to achieve? Have you prayed, fasted, sown seeds, sacrificed all you know how, and even go out of your way to do

FIX IT

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” - Mary Engelbreit

A couple married for 15 years began having more than the usual marriage disagreements. They wanted to make their marriage work and agreed on an idea the wife had. For one month, they planned to drop a slip in a "Fault" box. The boxes would provide a place to let the other know about daily irritations. The wife was diligent in her efforts and approach: "leaving the jelly top off the jar," "wet towels on the shower floor," "dirty socks not in hamper," on and on until the end of the month. After dinner, at the end of the month, they exchanged boxes. The husband reflected on what he had done wrong. Then the wife opened her box and began reading. They were all the same, the message on each slip was, “I love you!"

Henry James said “Sorrow comes in great waves…but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain.” When it’s right, marriage can be a beautiful

YOU CARRY GREATNESS

“When people complain of your complexity, they fail to remember that they made fun of your simplicity.” - Michael Bassey Johnson

“Although most cockroaches don’t actually produce milk, Diploptera punctate, which is the only known cockroach to give birth to live young, has been shown to pump out a type of ‘milk’ containing protein crystals to feed its babies…what is more fascinating to researchers is the fact that a single one of these protein crystals contain more than three times the amount of energy found in an equivalent amount of buffalo milk (which is also higher in calories than dairy milk)…If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids," said Sanchari Banerjee, one of the team…Not only is the milk a dense source of calories and nutrients, it’s also time released. As the protein in the milk is digested, the crystal releases more protein at an equivalent rate to continue the digestion. "If you need food that is calorically high, that is time released and food that is complete. This is it," said Subramanian Ramaswamy, who led the project.” Jacinta Bowler with SCIENCE ALERT wrote.

Now the researchers have the sequence, they are hoping to get yeast to produce the crystal in much larger quantities - making it slightly more efficient than extracting

LOOSE CABLE

"The greatness of the man's power is the measure of his surrender." - William Booth

Every time we take out some time to really study about the enormous potentials embedded in the human race - with God's Spirit in us - the revelations are mind bogging.

In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years. Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his

"Sex In The City" with Christie Bature Ogbeifun

IT'S WORK TIME!

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." - Tim Notke

Martin Luther, quoted in What Luther Says In Knowledge of the Holy: "If God did not bless, not one hair, not a solitary wisp of straw, would grow; but there would be an end of everything. At the same time God wants me to take this stance: I would have nothing whatever if I did not plow and sow. God does not want to have success come without work, and yet I am not to achieve it by my work. He does not want me to sit at home, to loaf, to commit matters to God, and to wait till a fried chicken flies into my mouth. That would be tempting God."

Looking around in this century, it is grievous to see how many of us Christians have become lazy. Leaving everything else to God, but praying. The Church have become so disillusioned, that we attribute every failure to the devil, and delegate our

WE'VE ALL GOT A SMIRK

"Don't go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one." - Marcus Aurelius

David Moye, with The Huffington Post, writes: If North Carolina ever gets tired of being called the "Tar Heel State," there’s another nickname just waiting for them: "Home of the happiest mug shots"...Mugshots from all over the country were simply put through Microsoft Cognitive Services, a web-based tool that can detect emotions, in order to determine the moods of each suspect. The facial recognition software sorted the various booking photos into...happy, sad or most surprised...North Carolina came out on top for smiling suspects...

The crimes these smiling suspects were most likely accused weren’t anything to grin about. They included contributing to the delinquency of a minor, cruelty to animals,

THE PRESENT NOW!

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present." - Bil Keane

We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate that future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we dream of those times which are no more, and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists.

Margaret Storm Jameson, the English author, once expressed the view that we all spend too much time living in the past, feeling regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done. Even when our minds turn to the future, she said, we spend an inordinate amount of time longing for it or dreading it. "The only way to live," she said, "is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle...Work at your work. Play at your play. Shed your tears. Enjoy your laughter. Now is the time of your life."

Life isn't about to begin, it has begun stop waiting. Mother Teresa said, "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

HOTR's National Transsformation Conference, NTC 2016

The BIGGEST event in the City is due in just 9 Days!

It's "House on The Rock, The Word House, National Transformation Conference 2016" #TWHNTC2016 tagged "SHIFT"

Featuring:
Chukwuagozie Ethelbert,
Niyi Adesanya,
George Izunwa,
Olakunke Soriyan,
Barnabas Arastus.

VENUE:
HOTR Auditorium,
MSP Bus Stop,
Nkponkiti,
Enugu

DON'T BE TOLD!!!

YOU'RE ENOUGH

"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." - Winston Churchill

There were 10,000 prostitutes plying their trade on the streets of London. Binge drinking, gambling all sorts of morally wrong acts were widespread, in the eighteenth century. The UK had descended into decadence and immorality. Church congregations had declined sharply (just as they have in recent times). Parts of the church had virtually descended into paganism. Yet, the nation was changed. How?

The preaching of Wesley mostly, and Whitefield began to take effect. Their work saw thousands of people respond to the message they preached, and as a result encountered Jesus. Robert Raikes started his first Sunday school in 1780. The growth from this one idea touched 300,000 unchurched children within five years. By 1910, there were 5,668,760 children in Sunday school. God raised up Wilberforce, Shaftesbury and others. Not only were individual hearts

NAYSAYERS

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

Frequently, people are going to be offended by your ideas, plans and deeds. Remember Joseph? His heartless brothers fake his death, sold him to human traffickers. Things go from bad to worse, and Joseph ends up in an Egyptian dungeon. Do you remember why Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in the first place? For his dreams. Have you ever been called a 'dreamer'? Every true dreamer has to deal with naysayers, everyone has had more than their fair share and usually they aren't distant acquaintances.

If your dreams don't scare you, then they are too small. If they can scare you, how much more others? Your dreams will inspire many people, no doubt. But those dreams will also attract fierce opposition: they will cause a wide variety of reactions, including jealousy, rejection and anger. Some people might even want to kill you for your dreams. Simply because you're daring to disrupt the status quo.

You’re going to offend someone, but you’ve got to decide who it will be God, or the naysayers. The best revenge against your naysayers, is massive success.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE SHUT DOORS?

"When God gives you a new beginning, it starts with an ending. Be thankful for closed doors they often guide us to the right one." - Unknown

For thirteen years, one church National Community Church met in the movie theaters at DC’s Union Station, there about a hundred thousand people pass through daily. This not only put the church in the middle of the marketplace, it put them on the map because there weren't many churches around that had their own metro stop, train station, or taxi stands dropping off at their front door. That golden opportunity started with a phone call informing their pastor that Giddings School, the public school where they met, was closing its doors because of fire code violations. His immediate reaction was fear because it put them on the verge of becoming a homeless church. However, he soon realized that some of God’s best pre-moves are closed doors.

Right off the bat, no one likes closed doors. I still remember when we lost our church building some years ago. It felt like it was the end of the world, because how else can you explain being kicked out of your church building, on a Saturday afternoon? No way.

HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE?

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have." - Margaret Mead

What does the word "care" mean to you? Have you ever taken time to evaluate your actions, to truly judge them so you'll know if you had shown real care when you should? It is common for us to say we care, but in truth our caring is valid, ONLY if, the recipient agrees we cared.

A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was okay,