MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

"Having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." John 17:4

If Satan cannot buy you with what is illegitimate, he will attempt to bury you with what is legitimate.  Either way, his objective is to drive a wedge between you and God.  When Christ came to the end of His earthly ministry, though only 33 years old He could say: "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do."  Jesus could have gotten much more involved with the 12 disciples, or taken advice from some program committee and chosen 24 disciples to double His outreach.  He could have traveled to Rome, the seat of power at the time.  Or to Athens, where He could touch great minds in order to extend His influence and reputation.  But He chose only 12 disciples.  He mentored them slowly and intimately, and never traveled far from the place of His birth.

Some might say that if you are going to revolutionize the world you need to carry your cause to as many parts of it as possible.  But Jesus deliberately limited His itinerary.  He kept is simple.  At the end, just before breathing His last He said, "It is finished."  Jesus was ready to die - because there was nothing left for Him to do.  His work had been completed, from the training of the disciples to providing redemption for us.  And you will detect no hint of resignation or regret in any of His last words.  Mission accomplished!  How long are you going to keep promising yourself that you will draw closer to God, that you will put His Kingdom first? If you ever plan to do it, do it now!

MAN IN THE MIRROR

“A hearer of the word and not a doer” James 1:23

Your Bible is a mirror that shows you what you really look like in God’s eyes: “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” James 1:23 – 24.  This word “man” is the Greek word for a male, so we are talking about the way men use the mirror.  They glance just long enough to get the basics done – then they are gone.  But not women.  They are so intent on knowing how they look that they carry a mirror in their purse.  They can find out any time of the day how they look.  The point here is not the difference in the way men and women use a mirror, but the difference between taking a quick glance at yourself and hanging out in front of the mirror until you have fully seen who you are in God’s eyes.

As we read God’s Word the Holy Spirit holds up a mirror before us.  He wants us to see ourselves so that we can make whatever adjustments are necessary.  James continues: “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the Word of God, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” James 1:25.  In what area of your life do you desire a greater measure of God’s blessing?  Take care of the “doing” and God will take care of the “blessing”.

Paul writes, “We all…beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” 2 Co 3:18. A mirror is a reflector.  And the more time you spend in God’s Word, the more you will begin to reflect your Heavenly Father’s likeness.

Now, this is no overnight change, and it does not happen by just grabbing a Bible verse here and there, or skimming through a passage.  No, it calls for soaking yourself in the Scriptures until the Holy Spirit connects with your spirit and produces the nature and ways of Christ in you.  Jesus said, “If you have ever left dishes in a sink until the food has dried on, you know those dishes need to “abide” in some hot, soapy water so that all the junk can be removed.  We need to soak our minds in God’s Word until the junk that James calls “all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness” James 1:21 begins to melt away.  This is not just gross sin, but hardened inner attitudes that keep us from growing in grace.

Our new nature has been “programmed” to want to obey God in much the same way that a calculator is programmed to compute numbers.  All you have to do is feed a calculator the right information to get the right response.  Your new nature has been set up to give you the right response when you feed it with the Word of God.  That is why your enemy will do anything to keep you from spending time in God’s Word.  Do not let him do it!

FULFILLING YOUR GOD-GIVEN ASSIGNMENT

"I gave them a mission in the world." John 17:18

Every day you live you are in the process of becoming.  What you become, however, depends on what you give yourself to.  So consider these 7 steps:

1. By making a commitment to grow daily, it will not be long before you begin to see real change.
2. Value the process more than the product.  Certain events may be helpful in making your decision, but it is going through the process that matures you into what God wants you to be.
3. Do not wait for inspiration.  Sometimes you can run on excitement, but most times only commitment will carry you through.
4. If you are willing to pay now you will enjoy the rewards later, and those rewards always taster sweeter.
5. Do not limit God.  By focusing on your limitations you magnify them.  The God who lives within you is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think" (Eph 3:20).
6. Learn to master your time.  Since you cannot recover lost time, make every moment count.  What difference does a few minutes make?  A lot!  If you save 5 minutes each day by streamlining your morning routine, 10 by eliminating things you do to keep from starting your day, 5 by avoiding talkers or other distractions, and 10 by taking a shorter lunch break - you will gain an additional 125 hours a year.  That is 40-hour work weeks to use for anything you want.  And you can double that by watching 30 minutes less of television each day.
7. Life is filled with decisive moments when you have to trade one thing for another.  Always trade up, not down.  Want to fulfill your God-given assignment? Follow these steps!

GROWING IN 4 AREAS

"Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."  Luke 2:52

Growing is something even Jesus did.  He grew in 4 areas:

1. He grew "in wisdom" - intellectual development.
2. He grew "in stature" - physical development.
3. He grew "in favor with God" - spiritual development.
4. He grew "in favor with men" - social and emotional development.

Your spiritual growth should not be compartmentalized, but integrated into every other aspect of your life.  This is where we have been missing it!  You cannot neglect one of these areas without endangering your growth in all of them.  So do not limit Jesus to some religious compartment of your existence and say, "A chapter a day keeps the devil away."  Wake up to the realization that you can give the Lord of your life greater control over every aspect of your being.  This is what makes the Christian life dynamic, not static.

But notice something: this is a highly individualized process.  We are each in different stages of our development.  That is why comparison is foolish.  Do not spend your life comparing yourself to others, because you are not them.  You are you!  Each day examine these 4 major areas and ask, "Lord, how am I doing?"  In some areas you will show up well, in others you will have a long way to go.  When it comes to your values and your habits you will discover that:

• Some are good and just need to be reaffirmed.
• Some are inconsistent and need to be reinforced.
• Some are underdeveloped and need to be refined.
• Some are harmful and need to be repented of.  

Bottom line?  You will grow if you commit yourself to it!

A LIFE TIME GUARANTEE

"Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  Psalm 23:6

Goodness and Mercy.  Not just goodness alone, for we all are flawed and in need of mercy.  Not just mercy alone, for we all are fragile and inadequate, in need of God's goodness.  So He guarantees both.  And if that does not impress you, try this phrase: "all the days of my life".  Think of the days that lie ahead of you: tough days raising children, days in a dead-end job, underpaid and financially strapped, days of loneliness, days of ill health, days of care giving.  Listen: "Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  All of them!

And what will the Shepherd do during those days? He will follow you. What a surprising way to describe God.  We are accustomed to a God who remains in one place; who sits enthroned in the heavens and rules.  But no, like a Shepherd who comes behind, gently coaxing His sheep forward, our Lord follows us.  Pursues us.  Tracks us down and wins us over.  Have you sensed Him pursuing you? So often we miss Him; we do not know our Helper when He is near.  Yet He is always there; through the kindness of a stranger; through the question of a child or the commitment of loved one; through a word of encouragement spoken or a touch well timed we sense His presence.  Even when we choose our hovel over His house and our efforts over His grace, still He follows.  Never forcing us.  Never leaving us.  Using all His power to convince us that He is who He is, and that He can be trusted to lead us home.  What more could we ask for?

EXPERIENCING THE MIRACULOUS

"Do whatever he tells you."  John 2:5

Do you need a miracle?  Read the story of Jesus turning water into wine.  Notice what Mary said to the attendants at the wedding reception: "Do whatever [Jesus] tells you."  Do it, even though:

• You are not in the right place.  They were at a wedding, not a church, when Jesus performed this miracle. Some of our greatest blessings will be at "other places" if we will just be sensitive and obedient to God.
• You have got a lot of problems.  They did run out of wine for their guests.  How embarrassing.  Too often our problems drive us away from Jesus instead of to Him.  Miracles begin when we focus on God's power instead of our problems.
• You are not being encouraged.  When Mary turned to Jesus for help He tested her faith saying, "Dear woman, why do you involve me...My time has not yet come" [Jn 2:4].  But she passed the test.  Instead of being discouraged Mary laid hold of the possibility of a miracle, believed God and received one.
• You have not walked with Christ very long.  The attendants who obeyed Jesus had just met Him.  And His disciples had just started following Him.  Yet they were all expected to obey Him.  So are you?
• You have not yet seen Him work miracles in your life.  This was Jesus' first miracle.  They had to obey Him without the faith that comes from a previous track record.  That is always challenging.
• You do not understand the process.  Why pour water into empty containers? Answer: give Jesus what you have got and He will give you back what you need.  That is how to experience the miraculous!

DIABETES

WHAT IS DIABETES?

It is a chronic disease that affects over 30million people worldwide. Simply put, People with diabetes are unable to utilize the glucose in their diet for energy. The glucose accumulates in their blood stream and can damage the heart, kidney, eyes and nerves. If left untreated, its complications are quite devastating. It is usually irreversible and although patients live a reasonably normal lifestyle, these late complications may result in reduced life expectancy and considerable uptake of health resources.

Much of its care is “Self-Managed”, meaning if you have this condition, you owe it to yourself to take day-to-day responsibility for your own care.

TYPES OF DIABETES

A.  Type  I  (also called juvenile onset or insulin dependent DM). It is an auto immune disease. This means your immune system which fights off infection for you has gone hay wire and is destroying your insulin producing cells. Without insulin, your body can’t use the sugar and fat broken down from food you eat. People with Type I Diabetes depend on external intake of insulin to live.

CHARACTERISTICS/SYMPTOMS

·         Most common in children.

·         Often comes on suddenly and severely with thirst, frequent urination, weight

loss which develops and worsens within weeks.( despite a good appetite and regular eating)

·         Usually no known family history.

·         No major risk factor, but chances are higher in those with a family history.

·         Insulin injection is required to control it.

·         Dry mouth weakness, tiredness and blurry vision.

B.  TYPE II (also called Non Insulin dependent DM or adult onset). It defers from type I in that the body makes some insulin but not enough and the body can’t make use of the small amount produced.

CHARACTERISTICS / SYMPTOMS

·         Most common in adults

·         Cuts or sore throat that heals slowly.

·         Itchy skin and yeast infections, dry mouth and leg pains.

·         Slow onset with thirst, frequent urination, weight loss which worsens over weeks or months.

·         Usually runs in families.

C.  GESTATIONAL DIABETES( PREGNANCY INDUCED)

3% to 5% of all pregnant women get this during mid-pregnancy and it usually ends when the baby is born. However some women go on to develop type II DM late on in life. It does not cause birth defects, but the babies are usually larger than normal and may suffer low blood sugar immediately after birth. Treatment is often diet modification.

WHAT PUTS YOU AT RISK?

·         Obesity

·         Family history.

·         Over weight baby (birth weight greater than 4kg) or a history of gestational DM)

·         High blood pressure greater than 140/90mmhg.

·         Abnormal blood sugar level in a previous testing.

CHECKING YOURSELF FOR DIABETES

Fasting blood sugar is the most common diagnostic test carried out. This is carried out by taking a blood sample from an individual who has not eaten anything for a minimum of 8 hours (i.e. first thing in the morning after an overnight fast where the last meal was before 9pm).

Normal levels are between 70-110mg/dl. So figures above this recorded on two different occasions are diagnostic of DM.

COMPLICATIONS.

 

·         Leading cause of adult blindness.

·         End stage kidney disease.

·         Limb amputations as a result of nerve disease.

·         Coronary heart disease and stroke.

·         65% of diabetics are also hypertensive.

Preventing or delaying its onset is often dependent on diet modification (eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as our regular diet is more of the class which puts us at risk). This should be backed up with adequate exercise to prevent obesity.

Early detection is necessary to prevent its devastating late complications.

Dr Ibare-Jones Eyitope