Famous Last Words

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8, NIV)

"Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!" said Karl Marx, when asked by his housekeeper what his last words were.

But the last words of some Biblical characters really reflects the quality of their lives. When Paul reached the final days of his mission here on earth he looked back and said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course..." In contrast when King Saul came to the end of his days he had to say. "I have played the fool, and erred exceedingly..." How will you end your days? Will you be able to look back with satisfaction and a feeling of fulfilment or will you be filled with regrets at having played the fool and wasted your life?

Don't wait until it is too late. Do something about it now. "Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6, NLT)

DAY LIGHTERS - 365 Bible thoughts to ignite your day. Available from Amazon.com

Better than Finger Lickin' Good

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV)

In his autobiography, Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain of stores says that he was always a God-fearing man. In every venture he had always given God a tenth of his profits. Yet he knew that if he died, God probably wouldn’t take him to Heaven.

One day, Sanders was walking down a street in Louisville, Kentucky, when he met a pastor who invited him to his services. Several days later, Sanders went. At the age of 79, he claimed God’s promise "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9, NKJV).

"When I walked out of that church that night I knew I was a different person. All my tithing and good deeds had never given me the sense of God's presence that I knew then." he says.

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)

From DAY LIGHTERS - 365 Quickfire devotions - available from amazon.com

Testing

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10, NKJV)

Sometimes things come into our lives and there seems no purpose, no sense in them. We wonder how any good can come out of them. We may at the time be overwhelmed. We may feel a sense of desperation. We may find ourselves questioning God and His goodness to us. "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." (Hebrews 12:11, NLT)

James urges his readers, " when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4, NLT)

DAY LIGHTERS - quickfire devotions available from: amazon.com

UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too." (Acts 17:6, NKJV)

We live in an upside down world. Men hate when they should love, they quarrel when they should agree, they fight when they should heal, they steal when they should share, they do wrong when they should do right.

This is why committed believers seem misfits to the world. To an upside down world, a right side up man seems upside down. To a sinner, a righteous man is an oddity and an abnormality. A Christian's goodness is a rebuke to his wickedness.

Christ's righteousness is so revolutionary and so contradictory to a man's manner of living that it invokes the enmity of the world. Christians are different and men always regard with suspicion that which is different.

It is for this reason that we are opposed because we are different, because our behaviour shows them up, it makes them feel insecure and uncomfortable.

From the book, DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. Available from Amazon.

GANDHI’S STRENGTH

My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9, NKJV)

In the published diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propagandist, there are two or three references to Mahatma Gandhi. Goebbels believed that Gandhi was a fool and a fanatic. If Gandhi had the sense to organize militarily, Goebbels thought, he might hope to win the freedom of India. He was certain that Gandhi couldn't succeed following a path of non-resistance and peaceful revolution.

Yet as history played itself out, India peacefully won her independence while the Nazi military machine was destroyed. What Goebbels regarded as weakness actually turned out to be strength. What he thought of as strength turned out to be weakness.

There are so many books and courses today that stress the need to assert yourself in order to make an impact. Jesus suggests otherwise , "and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." (Mark 10:44, NIV)

From the book DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. Available from Amazon.com

Practise What You Preach

I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! (Matthew 25:40, NLT)

Satan does not care how much you theorise about Christianity or how much you profess to know Christ. What he opposes vigorously is the way you live Christ - the way you become an instrument of mercy, compassion, and love through which He manifests Himself to the world.

If Satan can take the heart, motive and mercy out of Christianity, he has killed its effectiveness. If he can succeed in getting us to talk a good case of religion but to live a poor one, he has shorn us of our power.

"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." (James 1:22, NLT)

From the book DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. Available from Amazon.com

Time to Sparkle

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.(Matthew 5:16, NKJV)

The Christian should stand out like a sparkling diamond. He should be wholesome, poised, courteous, gracious, but firm in the things he does and does not do. He should be radiant and refuse to allow the world to pull him down.

The greatest need of Christians is for disciplined living. The Apostle Paul said, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2, NLT)

God calls you today to dedicate your life to Christ and surrender totally and completely to Him, and live the life of discipleship that Jesus Christ asked for and expects from us.

From the book, DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. Available from Amazon.com