Ready, Resisting, and Alert

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.” - 1 Peter 5:8-9 NASB

After returning to his native Venice in 1295, Marco Polo amazed Europeans with his account of the 17 years he had spent in China. He had special praise for Quinsai (or “City of Heaven”), known today as Hangzhou. Polo called it the “greatest city that may be found in the world.” Eventually, he realized that the Mongols, who controlled China, had imposed a kind of false peace, patrolling the city with guards.

In his book about Marco Polo, Laurence Bergreen, describes how Quinsai constantly faced the threat of fire. Everyone remembered the horrible fire of 1208, which burned for four days, destroying more than 58,000 houses. As a result, a “sophisticated alarm system” was created with guards on watchtowers always ready to sound an alarm.

However, this focus on fire blinded the city to other threats. In fact, residents of Quinsai were so preoccupied they took few precautions against invaders from distant lands. Because of this obsession, they were vulnerable to a Mongol takeover.

How easily we can make the same mistake in our spiritual lives. We can be so focused on our immediate needs and interests that we don’t pay attention to the spiritual warfare going on around us or to our adversary, the devil.

Peter warned us not to take the devil for granted-for he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Today, allow God to shape your mind and heart and give you His discernment. Seek to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, trust in God, and live according to His Word. Remember to be alert and ready for the attacks of the enemy!

I usually don’t talk too much politics but this one disturbed me.  Barak Obama made the following statement: 
“I don’t want my daughter to be punished with a baby”.                            
A baby is a punishment?   
 

Power

When Marco Polo arrived in China in 1275, he discovered a multicultural empire filled with people of many religions. However, China’s leader, Kublai Khan, had a strong interest in Christianity. His wife, in fact, was a Christian. Khan once told Polo that the Christian faith was the “truer and better” and took precedent over other religions.

When asked why he didn’t declare himself a Christian, Khan explained that he’d seen that other religions had supernatural power. But based on his observations, he didn’t believe that faith in Christ would preserve him from poison or from spells cast by “sorcerers or shamans.”

Unfortunately, Khan was familiar with a Christianity filled with doctrines, but without power. While respecting the teachings of Jesus and Christian morals, he couldn’t wholeheartedly endorse the religion. What he wanted was something real…something powerful. Khan wanted was the kind of Christianity described in the Bible-a life of power! Not weakness, but strength, miracles, and the supernatural.

Concerning Christianity, the world still looks for proof, validation, and people with a vital faith who don’t just talk about what they believe but put their faith into practice. The world is looking for people who have real answers and whose lives are charged with the supernatural!

Today, don’t limit God, but let Him use you to change the world. Be bold and ready to step out in faith. Remember, you serve the true, living God, the God who created the heavens and the earth. Believe Him for mighty miracles in your life!

“In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.” - 1 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB

NASA to televise Jules Verne maneuvers

HOUSTON (UPI) — The U.S. space agency said it will televise a series of maneuvers by the European Space Agency’s Jules Verne spacecraft next week.

The automated transfer vehicle, or ATV, is to begin a series of automated approaches in preparation for an eventual docking with the International Space Station. NASA Television will broadcast the most critical maneuvers on its Web site March 31 and April 3, with commentary from controllers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The March 31 coverage will begin at 10 a.m. EDT as the ATV begins an approach to the station from a distance of two miles. It will move to within 36 feet of the station before an abort signal is sent to move the ATV away from the complex for its final approach three days later. The maneuvers will test systems required for a safe automated docking.

On April 3, NASA TV coverage will begin at 7 a.m. EDT as the cargo ship prepares for a 10:40 a.m. EDT docking.

The ATV will remain at the space station until early August, when it will undock and burn up after entering the Earth’s atmosphere.