9904 Woodstream Court, Lanham MD 20706

Phone: +1 (240) 350-6426

http://www.joyfullivingministries.org
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DAILY NUGGETS FOR JOYFUL LIVING

Tuesday, January 13, 2015
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Hebrews 10:24 KJV
TREATING ONE ANOTHER WITH RESPECT
Once a church had fallen upon hard times and only five members were left: the pastor
and four others, all over 60 years old. In the mountains near the Church, there lived a retired
Bishop. It occurred to the pastor to ask the Bishop if he could offer any advice that might save
the church. The pastor and the Bishop spoke at length, but when asked for advice, the Bishop
simply responded by saying, "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the
Messiah is one of you." The pastor, returning to the church, told the church members what the
Bishop had said. In the months that followed, the old church members pondered the words of
the Bishop. "The Messiah is one of us?" they each asked themselves. As they thought about this
possibility, they all began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that
that one among them might be the Messiah. And on the off, off chance that each member
himself might be the Messiah, they also began to treat themselves with extraordinary care. As
time went by, people visiting the church noticed the aura of respect and gentle kindness that
surrounded the five old members of the small church. Hardly knowing why, more people began to
come back to the church. They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought more
friends. Within a few years, the small church had once again become a thriving, growing church,
and thanks to the Bishop's gift of advice.
When life directs you to another person or culture, you must consider where you are
coming from, undress yourself completely from your culture, and look unto God for a new
dressing of the culture that you have approached. Every culture has its peculiarities and ethics.
There is a gross difference that makes one culture to stand in opposition to another. What one
culture considers acceptable may be completely unacceptable by another culture. Heaven
considers sin as something that should not even be mentioned, while the culture of the earth we
live in today trivializes sins. At the mountain of God, God had to tell Moses to consider getting
himself transformed in order to fit into the culture of Heaven; namely, no unclean thing shall be
found there. Moses was advised to remove his shoes because where he was standing was a holy
ground. There is a new culture he had to uphold, and Moses was made to realize that. God said,

Moses, your former culture of slavery mentality and redemption through violent murders must
be done away with in the removing of your shoes for a new culture to become relevant to you.
For an effective actualization of this new culture, Moses, you must remove your shoes. Dont you
think that a lot of us have various shoes of various colors and make that we are wearing and
these repel Gods anointing and works within us? I guess, if you conduct an honest self search
right now, you might come up with a lot of shoes you necessarily need to remove in order to
stand on the holy mountain of God and experience His miracles you so desire today.
From the story above, the Bishop told these members that the Messiah was one of them.
That put them in a check and they started treating themselves with utmost respect with
integrity. Love was reborn in them. Extraordinary life of Christian character and virtues began
to manifest amongst them that attracted the entire society. The Church became populated again
because a new culture was now born amongst this congregation of five old men. That goes with
the saying that he that must be a friend must consider himself friendly. God was always in that
Church but heavens culture of esteeming one another better was far from being known among
the members. Everyone was doing things his own way, as long as those things will benefit them.
We are called to be one anothers keeper. Heavens culture must manifest the presence of God.
Heavens culture is the desire of the world around us. The world is talking big on peace treaty
today but peace can only be found in Christ. When every Christian is living with a complete
obedience to the Bible and to the will of God, peace will come. Joyful Living is the manifestation
of the peace that Christ alone can bring and you are designed for that peace if you cling to the
culture of esteeming the other person better than yourself. When you remove your shoes of
selfishness and put on that of selflessness, you are walking in Joyful Living Experience. Let us
practice it and we will grow together and fulfill the desires of the cross of Christ. If we treat
each other as the Messiah, then we are looking for The Messiah to surely be one of us. Amen?
Prayer Point: Lord, make me the reason for someones joy today. May I treat the other person as he is the Messiah I need. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!

Pastors Chris & Julie Akpama

Dont forget your COVENANT with God every day. Call the pastor from 6:30 pm till 9:30 pm @ (240) 350-6426 for encouragement and for
covenant prayers. Call expecting! Call believing!! Your miracle is possible with prayers!!! Amen? Acts 12:5-9

2015, A YEAR OF DIVINE EXCHANGE Isaiah 61:2-3