SELF-DISCIPLINE AND RESPONSIBILITY EPISODE THREE

SELF-DISCIPLINE AND RESPONSIBILITY
EPISODE THREE

Introduction: Your ability and willingness to discipline yourself to accept personal RESPONSIBILITY for your life is essential to happiness, health, success, achievement, and personal leadership. Accepting responsibility is one of the hardest of all disciplines, but without it, no success is possible.
Respinsibility is simply defined as your Response' ability.In other words, your ability to respond to what happens to you. You may not be responsible for all the things that happen to you; but you are responsible for the way you act when they do happen.

FROM CHILDHOOD TO MATURITY CONDITIONING.
When you are growing up, from an early age you become conditioned to see yourself as not responsible for your life. Your parents are in charge when you are a child. They make all your decisions.They decide what food you will eat, what clothes you will wear, what toys you will play with, what home you will live in, what school you will attend, and what activities you will engage in during your free time. Because you are young, innocent, and unknowing, you do what they want you to do.
You have little choice or control.As you grow up, however, you begin to make more and more of your own decisions in each of these areas. BUT BECAUSE OF YOUR EARLY PROGRAMMING, you're conditioned unconsciously to feel that someone else is still responsible for your life, that there is still someone else out there can or should take care of you. Most people grow up believing that if something goes wrong, someone else is responsible. Someone else is to blame. As a result, most people make more excuses for the things in their lives, past and present, that make them unhappy.

Get over the Mistakes your parents made
The criticism, and being beaten out of anger, punishing you emotionally and physically, or withholding punishment from you making you feel guilty. All these negative feelings could then intersect to make you feel like a victim, inferior. And the next thing is to ask who is to blame?.
AN ATTITUDE OF IRRESPONSIBILITY
Courts today are full of people demanding redress and payment for something that went wrong in their lives being backed by ambitious plaintiff lawyers, people go to court demanding compensation. PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY. People are attempting to escape responsibility for their own behaviours by blaming someone else, making excuses, and then demanding compensation.
Eliminate negative emotions, like envy, jealousy, anger, fear, resentment, which leads to blaming others. You develop the attitude of irresponsibility when you always blame others for such negative emotions.

AN ANTIDOTE TO IRRESPONSIBILITY
1.Learn to say and accept the statement, I am responsible
After saying you are responsible, then look into the situation to find the reasons why you are responsible for what has happened or what is going on. Your car may be damaged in the parking lot while you are at work, you may not be legally at fault for the accident. But you are still responsible for your responses, for how behave as a result of what happened.
2. Never complain.
3. Never explain.
The moment you begin to complain or to explain, then know that you are on the road to refusing to accept complete responsibility for the situation.
4. Do not allow your emotions to control you; control your emotions. You take charge if your emotions by accepting 100% responsibility for yourself and your responses to everything that happens to you. Refuse to make excuses, complain, criticize, or blame other people for anything.
Take action! Work on accepting personal responsibility for your life, taking complete control of your thoughts and feelings. By so doing, you become a much more effective, happy, and positive person in everything you do.

ADDENDUM:
It is the lack of the 'sense of responsibility'  that is killing us as Africans and as Ghanaians. Thus, in every situation, we keep blaming the witches and wizards in our family and hometown. We are not responsible enough for our finances, we are not responsible enough towards our work and acadamics, marriages, family relationships, etc, and when things go wrong we are even more irresponsible towards accepting our failure. We are always quick to point fingers at people that they are responsible for our mistakes, suffering and unhappiness.
Interestingly, some cunning individuals have identified our problem of irresponsibility and decided to make money out of it. They are not helping us to solve it. Never!
These people call themselves pastors, prophets, prophetess, bishops, angels and so on . They always make us understand that the headache we have is a message from our hometown witches; The financial crisis is not a matter of management but the work of the devil; The marriage that is not working is the doing of your wizard grandpa. In fact every problem in our life is caused by someone, and not us. We do not sit down to analyse our lives to see the mistakes we are making ,or the progress we are making in order to take full control of our lives.

Citizens blame government for not doing certain things for them. The Government is to be blamed all the time(which is not true anyway). Government also blames the political party in opposition for not doing A or B. The opposition party also blames the party in power....and that is the climax of the blame game.

 It is very natural and part of humans to play the blame game like did Adam and Eve, the first of the human race as recorded on the pages of the Holy writ.Gen 3:12-13. However, it is not cool to do that. Our maker accepts responsibility.
Take responsibility, and stop giving excuses.

MORE ABOUT JESUS

MORE ABOUT JESUSJESUS
It is the most abused name on earth. It is abused in both when and how it is mentioned, yet it is the sweetest name on earth. I will not talk about how the name is being abused now but the need to know more about that name. The name is JESUS. For, "neither is there salvation in any other; for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby, we must be saved.Acts 4:12. Phil2:9-11.

At these times that every thing is becoming too personal. We are always thinking how to win that business contract, how to make that great amount,how to buy that expensive car, how to get that promotion, how to win that lady's heart, how to get that and that, the list goes on. But i wonder how many of us are eager to know about Jesus? I would be happy to meet that disciple who will say:
More about Jesus would i know,More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me. 

At these times that all we think is more of material things. More of money, more of food, more of customers, more of businesses, more of children, more of followers, more of healings, more of power, more of miracles, and more of every good thing.But there is nothing better than knowing more about Jesus. Let's say:

More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me.

At these times that we only want go wherewhere our itching ears will be tickled, to hear what we want to, Turning our ears away from TRUTH, and turn aside to myths. We are only interested in; you will buy that, you will get that visa, your bank account will be full, you are free to do whatever you feel like doing, etc, let's remember to desire;
More about Jesus in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord;Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine.

Am I saying at these times, it is wrong to ask for physical needs. Of course not. I am saying"But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33 For the pagan world run after all such things,.....Luke 12:14, 29-34
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Do not seem to worship God yet chasing after the wind. Think about it today. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power ,are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Then know that Christ died for the sins of  you and i,he was buried and on the third day, he resurrected according to the scriptures, believe this and believe on Him as the only begotten son of God, our Saviour, repent of your sinful life, confess him as Christ and give yourself to him through baptism for the remission of your sins and be added by God to His Church which he purchased with his own blood:  Rom 10:17, Mark 16:15-16,John3:16, Matt 28:18-20,Acts 17:30,31 Rom10:9, Acts 2:38 1st Pet 3:21
Then join me sing:
More about Jesus on His throne, Riches in glory all His own; More of His Kingdom's sure increase; More of His coming, Prince of Peace.
More, more about Jesus,
more, more about Jesus
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.

RAPTURE? WILL THERE BE RAPTURE? WHEN?

RAPTURE? RAPTURE? WILL THERE BE RAPTURE? WHEN?
Some folks say," I believe in Jesus so what does it really matter what I think about the Bible?"But it does matter says the Bible 2nd Tim3:16. It matters greatly what you believe about the Bible! Jesus himself will not let you make false distinction between his person and his word. He often quoted the Scriptures as originating with God the Father (Matt 19:4-5). When the Pharisees tried to replace God's commandment in the Law of Moses with their own tradition, he accused them of making void the word of God (Mark 7:13)

Now listen to Jesus' strongest statement about the complete trustworthiness of the Bible"THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE BROKEN" John 10:35. Since Scripture cannot be broken, an appeal to Scriptures is final; it cannot be challenged or disproved or denied.
So what does the Scripture says about RAPTURE?
AIM OF STUDY:To refute the false teachings on Rapture.
INTRODUCTION: Some religious groups have many false propositions on these concept, but Biblical teachings on Eschatology differ from their teachings.
What is rapture?
Rapture is defined as the secret taking of the saints before the second coming of Christ.
Many believe that the saints will be taken up in to heaven SECRETLY, and come back with Christ and rule on earth with Christ for thousand years (1,000).
During this period the battle of Armageddon would be fought, a second repentance would be given. Actually, there are so many extensions of this concept of rapture among it teachers and believers

Rapture did not occur at all in the Bible;KJV,NKJV,NIV and other modern translation of the Bible.Historically, it was not in existence until 1500A.D ,came to stand for the SECRET snatching up to heaven. Many have been too foolish to set dates and time for it occurrence and were found liars. Prov 30:6

The teaching on rapture comes from the misunderstanding of 1st Thess 4:13-18,(which talks about the second coming of the lord Jesus), Matthew 24, Mark 13,Luke 21(which discuss the destruction of Jerusalem).The latter point will  be discussed into details in another article. However, you should know that the prophecy on the destruction of Jerusalem does not endorse rapture.
BIBLICAL TEACHINGS ON THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
know that all the events regarding the second coming of Christ will be fulfilled in one Day
1.According to 1 Thess 4:13-18, there will be no rapture or secret taking of the saints.
2.Christ second coming will be audible 1 Thess 4:16.
The resurrection and the judgement will take place simultaneously John 5:28-29.
3. There will be no second chance Heb 9:27
4.It is not now that some special Antichrist will be coming but Antichrist has been the world since the time John wrote.1John2:18-20, 4:1-3
5. The battle of Armageddon is not physical or nuclear war Rev 16:16-22
6.Christ's kingdom has existed since A.D 33 (col1:13)
7.The earth will melt with fervent heat 1 pet 3:9-12
8.Christ will not set His foot on this earth again not to talk of coming to rule on this earth for 1'000 years.1Thess 4:17.
On this note I urge you to resolve from this error and be free John 8:32.
God is not the author of confusion 1 cor14:33
You can be simply a Christian. Of such blessed fellowship of the Lord's Church is the reason why I will not hesitate to invite you to give yourself to Christ through baptism after you have heard ,believed the gospel of Christ, repented and confessing Jesus, calling up the name of the Lord in the Church. The Churches of Christ salute you.ROM 16:16.

SELF-DISCIPLINE AND CHARACTER EPISODE TWO

SELF-DISCIPLINE AND CHARACTER
EPISODE TWO
"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity your self. Be a hard master to yourself and be lenient to everyone else"-Henry Ward Beecher,nineteenth-century clergyman.

The development of character is a great task of life. Your ability to establish a reputation as a person of character and honour is the highest achievement of social and business life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear a word that you say."

The person you are today, your innermost character, is the sum total of all your choices and decisions in life up to this date. Each time you have chosen rightly and acted consistently with the very best that you know, you have strengthened your character and become a better person. The reverse is also character

To be a person of character you have to possess these virtues or values;
1.courage
2.compassion
3.generosity
4.temperance
5.persistence
6,friendliness and among others
Truth is the core of your character.
But INTEGRITY guarantees all these virtues.
When your character is being tested,or when you are under pressure, make sure you do not compromise-for that is when you demonstrate your true character. Guard your integrity.
In development of character,
1.study the values you admire
2.emulate the people you most admire
3.practice the values you respect.
It also involves the orderly coordination among;
1Your self-ideal- the values you aspire to possess in yourself.
2.Your self-image: your inner mirror. This the way we see and think of ourselves
When you see yourself as calm, positive, truthful, and possessed of high character, you behave with greater strength and personal power.
3. Your self-esteem: how much you like yourself. How you feel about yourself. Your emotional core.
Note
Whenever you act in a way that is consistent with your values, you feel good about yourself. And whenever you compromise your values for any reason you feel bad about yourself. It means when you compromise your values your self-confidence and self-esteem go down.ALWAYS BEHAVE CONSISTENTLY(POSITIVE)
Do the right thing.What you dwell upon grows. The good values you admire will be placed deep in your subconscious until they begin to operate automatically only if you concentrate on them.
To be continued

WILL ONLY THE 144,000 GO TO HEAVEN?
Aim Of Study :To refute the false teachings of the teachers of this concept, especially the Jehovah Witnesses and any other religious group on this FIGURATIVE NUMBER, 144,000.
INTRODUCTION:
Isn't it a heartrending story, to hear that all that the faithful child of God has been promised concerning heaven is a fairytale, but a renovated earth awaits him in eternity? In other words heaven is not for everyone but for some special people and for that matter the saved will not received anything more than a renovated earth. The Jehovah Witnesses predominantly  teach that only 144,000 saints will go to heaven and the great multitude will live on a renovated earth. They falsely use Rev 7:1-17 and 14:1-ff
But what does the Bible say about this topic.
THE BIBLICAL EXPOSITION ON THE TWO PASSAGES.
1.According to the context, an angel was restrained to stop destruction, until the sealing of the servants of God. Rev7:3. So the angel sealed 144,000 from the tribe of Israel.
2.The great multitude that was shown to John was from all nations and was before the throne of God or in heaven. (Rev 7:14-17) ACCORDING TO CHRIST, THE THRONE OF GOD IS HEAVEN (Matt 5:33-34)
3.Later in the vision, John sees them standing with the lamb on Mount Zion, having been redeemed from the earth. Rev14:3 According to the Hebrew writer Mount Zion also refers to heaven (Heb 12:22-24) We can therefore conclude that both the 144,000 and the great multitude were in heaven.

In a comparative study of the qualifications of the 144,000, the great multitude and that of Christians, you will without doubt acknowledge that all have the same yen qualifications. In summation, we can establish the fact that the number 144,000 is figuratively representing the redeemed who shall be in heaven with God, Christ and the angels.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE 144,000 TO CHRISTIANS
 BIBLICAL REFERENCE.       144,000.                                   CHRISTIANS
1.Rev 7:4                              They were sealed.                    Christians are sealed(Eph 1:13)
2.Rev 7:9.                             From all nations           Christians are from all nations (mark16:15)
3.Rev 7:10                            They were saved.                            Christians are saved (Acts2:47)
4. Rev 7:14.        Came out of great tribulations.     Christians came out of same (Acts 14:22)
5.Rev 7:15.    They were before God's throne.  We are one before God's throne heb12:22-24
6.Rev 7:17.         Christ is in their midst.                     He's in our midst (matt 18:20)
7.Rev 7:17.         God shall wipe away their tears      God will do same for Christians Rev21:4-
8.Rev 14:3 They were redeemed.                                   We are redeemed (1Pet 1:18)
9.Rev 14:4    They were undefiled and virgins.  Christians are undefiled and virgins 2cor11:2
10.Rev14:4.  They follow the lamb.                   We follow Christ,the lamb of God Jn10:27,1:29

According to the comparative study, the 144,000 are not the only LITERAL occupants of heaven but it's a figurative number represents the total number of saints.
Note.that the number 144,000 is from 12*12*1000
12-standing for God's religious number
1000-standing ultimate completeness
 144,000 and the great multitude refers to the same group of people spoken of in different instances.refers to the redeemed or Christians that would be saved.

If that is the case ,why were they spoken of as if already saved?
The writer employed a literary device called prolepsis which speaks of future event as if were already existing or achieved.
Let us be assured that if we are faithful to the end we will receive the crown of glory Rev 2:10.
Are you in Christ's sheepfold? The Church he purchased with His blood?
ROM 16:16The Churches of Christ salute you.

Reference: Bro.Daniel Kyereh-Mensah,preacher
Annual Youth Camp ,Sunyani Technical University.