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Devotional - Guard Your Heart

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  Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Proverbs 4:23-27 The Message (MSG)         The heart, weighing between 7 and 15 ounces, is one of the smallest organs of the body, yet it has the biggest job. That’s quite a paradox, isn’t it? The heart is at the centre of the circulatory system, beating on average 72 times per minute to pump blood to the tissues of the body, supplying oxygen and other nutrients and removing carbon dioxide and other waste matter. The heart is vital to the efficient functioning of the body and must therefore be healthy in order to maintain and preserve overall health.    Achieving optimal heart health requires getting adequate rest and exercise, avoiding smoking and second-hand smoke, consuming a diet rich i
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WORDS of ENCOURAGEMENT - GOD'S PROMISES ARE SURE

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A promise is a comfort to a fool. Faithful promise mek fool glad - (A faithful promise makes a fool glad). These are popular sayings that we have often heard and maybe even use. This is true to an extent because in our fallen world, most, if not all of us have, at some point in our lives, experienced the pain and hurt of a broken promise. Such a saying issues a caution to those who blindly trust in promises made to us, especially if it known that such persons are unreliable or insincere. It paints a glaring picture of one who sets himself up to be disappointed by another. Ideally, your word should be your bond, and this should be the driving force to guarantee that any promise you make is fulfilled. However, not everyone subscribes to this idea, and so are often guilty of making willy nilly, empty and impulsive promises, without proper thought or a plan of action as to how they will be fulfilled. This often leaves a trail of heartbreak, betrayal, anger and a myriad of other negative em
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Book Review - Memorial Stones Vol. 1

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  Unveiling the Power of Faith: A Review of 'Memorial Stones: Testimonies of God’s Faithfulness and Provision in Times of Need – Volume 1' .         God Is Good   “God Is Good”- is the greatest understatement EVER!! However,   ‘Memorial Stones: Testimonies of God’s Faithfulness and Provision in Times of Need – Volume 1’  offers a unique perspective, reminding us that He INDEED is profoundly good. This book, serving as a powerful source of inspiration and a beacon of hope, uplifts the spirit with its unique insights.   But first, let us look at the definition of good. While there were numerous definitions, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the ones that stood out to me most were:  of a favourable character or tendency; and  that can be relied on.   Despite these standing out to me, I believe that the definitions fail to express who God truly is. God is just, of high standards, wise, capable, to be desired, worthy, and the list goes on.   A Simple For mula to Experienc
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Devotional – Dress for Success: Put on the Whole Armour of God

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Passage: Ephesians 6: 10 -17  (NIV)  Focus verse:  Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.   (Ephesians 6:11)     The Christian life is a constant battle and so each day, as soldiers of Christ, we are at war with forces of evil, the enemy of our souls. The war is not physical, but spiritual. How do we prepare ourselves for battle? How do we show up? How do we win the fight? By dressing for success, putting on our weapon of warfare, our armour. In the passage above, the Apostle Paul urges Christians to "put on the whole armor of God," a metaphor for spiritual protection against the forces of evil. This armor is not physical but spiritual, designed to shield us from the attacks of the devil and his minions. Let's delve into each piece of this divine armor. The Belt of Truth This is the foundation of our spiritual armor. Truth, as revealed in God's Word, is our belt, holding up the rest of our spiritual at
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Chapter 2 – Driver…… (An Excerpt from Memorial Stones Vol. 1)

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  September 19, 2024 • Lona For God has not given us a spirit of fear…2 Timothy 1:7 As a young woman, one of my dreams was to learn to drive and eventually purchase my own car. I kept the dream at the back of my mind for many years, but finally, in the late 1990’s I decided to take the plunge. Armed with my learner driver “lunatic” licence and the knowledge gained from reading the driving manual, I found myself a driving instructor and embarked on the journey of learning to drive. I was ready to put the theory into practice. My first driving lesson was a lunchtime lesson. At the time I was working at Jamaica Information Service (JIS) on Half-Way-Tree Road. My first mistake was to assume that, as is the custom with most driving instructors, we would head to the National Stadium or some other quiet area to go over the basics for the first lesson. Was I wrong! I was in for a surprise! We proceeded down Half-Way-Tree Road and turned onto Oxford Road in the heavy lunchtime traffic. The inst
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Devotional - Pardon our Progress

For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13   As I exited my vehicle at work one morning, I looked across to the newly constructed extension to the parking lot admiring how beautiful, spacious and well laid out it was. It was a sight to behold! My mind then went back to the previous day, when two of my neighbours, having passed the location that day, were very impressed with what they saw and mentioned it to me. I looked on with a sigh of relief, happy with the fact that there would be no more parking problems, at least for a very long time.  As I reflected on the new upgrade, the words ' pardon our progress' flashed across my mind, and this time, my mind was taken back to the days when the work was in progress. Often used in the field of construction, these words are usually mounted on a sign alerting the public that even though there is a lot of chaos, noise, dust, confusion and inconvenience, something new and better
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Devotional - Seeing God in the Little Things

  September 9, 2024 • Lona Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 (NIV) It’s amazing how God often shows up in the simple and seemingly insignificant things of life. Two recent incidents in the past two days have securely cemented this fact in my mind and are the inspiration behind today’s devotional. Incidentally, I had planned to go into a totally different direction for this week’s blog, but on two different occasions, as I sat down and tried to put pen to paper, I had a terrible case of writer’s block. My thoughts were not flowing and there was almost a sense of mental paralysis. I decided, on both occasions, to take a step back. In hindsight, I can see that what I faced both times was God’s re-direction. Yesterday, I went through a time of being angry and impatient with God. I was upset because He had made me a promise a long time ago and it has still not yet been fulfilled. I am sure you have all been in such a position and can u
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