<![CDATA[Christian Education in Africa, Inc. - CEA Blog]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:10:48 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:31:40 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call7816148Integrity
"Sleep with clean hands, either kept clean all day by integrity or washed clean at night by repentance." John Donne
"Honesty is the best policy" is a notion that's gathered some dust! Integrity has fallen on hard times in many areas of society. The qualities of honesty, truthfulness, reliability and sincerity have often been pushed into the closet and replaced by hypocrisy, thievery, unfaithfulness and deceit. Are you as good as your word? Christians must raise up the standard of integrity in a world where honor and uprightness grow ever dimmer.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of theLordwas on me,and he brought me out by the Spiritof theLordand set me in the middle of a valley;it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “SovereignLord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of theLord! This is what the SovereignLordsays to these bones: I will make breathenter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am theLord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: Come, breath, from the four windsand breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commandedme, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.Then you, my people, will know that I am theLord,when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spiritin you and you will live, and I will settleyou in your own land. Then you will know that I theLordhave spoken, and I have done it, declares theLord.’”
John 11:38-44 Jesus, once more deeply moved,came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,”he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said,“Did I not tell you that if you believe,you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked upand said,“Father,I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here,that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice,“Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen,and a cloth around his face.
Acts 1:9-11 After he said this, he was taken upbefore their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in whitestood beside them. “Men of Galilee,”they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come backin the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Colossians 1:15-20 The Son is the imageof the invisible God,the firstbornover all creation. For in him all things were created:things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things,and in him all things hold together. And he is the headof the body, the church;he is the beginning and the firstbornfrom among the dead,so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleasedto have all his fullnessdwell in him, and through him to reconcileto himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,by making peacethrough his blood,shed on the cross.
Miracle is a little oracle, the deed of the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name.
Integrity: All in all of us made whole by the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This oneness is made by the power of the Holy Spirit.
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 01 Jun 2025 20:37:18 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call2531638Kindness
"As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." Albert Schweitzer
Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Unfortunately it is often the first casualty in our battle with the clock.
Lamentations 3:22-23 Because of theLord’s great lovewe are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 Love is patient,love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered,it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,they will cease; where there are tongues,they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.For we know in partand we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes,what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhoodbehind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to face.Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.But the greatest of these is love."
Love is the foundation of Christianity.
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 04 May 2025 20:09:04 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call9645833
Humility
"Lord...where we are wrong, make us willing to change, and where we are right, make us easy to live with." Peter Marshall
No garment is more fitting for a Christian than that of humility. While some mistake meekness for weakness, most people admire humility in others because it conveys a quiet strength of character that doesn't need applause from the world. In an age when many "old-fashioned" values have gone out of style, modesty, respect for others and deference to God's authority are still widely accepted standards of excellence. A person who looks up to God rarely looks down on people
Psalm 51:1-19 Have mercyon me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot outmy transgressions. Wash awayall my iniquity and cleanseme from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinfulat birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdomin that secret place. Cleanseme with hyssop,and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bonesyou have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot outall my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart,O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast mefrom your presence or take your Holy Spiritfrom me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit,to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinnerswill turn back to you. Deliver mefrom the guilt of bloodshed,O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice,or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice,O God, isa broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offeringsoffered whole; then bullswill be offered on your altar.
1 Samuel 2:1-11 Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoicesin theLord; in theLordmy hornis lifted high. My mouth boastsover my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holyliketheLord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rocklike our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for theLordis a God who knows, and by him deedsare weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungryare hungry no more. She who was barrenhas borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “TheLordbrings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. TheLordsends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raisesthe poorfrom the dust and lifts the needyfrom the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundationsof the earth are theLord’s; on them he has set the world. He will guard the feetof his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strengththat one prevails; those who oppose theLordwill be broken. The Most High will thunderfrom heaven; theLordwill judgethe ends of the earth. “He will give strengthto his king and exalt the hornof his anointed.” Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,but the boy ministeredbefore theLordunder Eli the priest.
1 Kings 18:30-40 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altarof theLord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of theLordhad come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the nameof theLord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahsof seed. He arrangedthe wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the timeof sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,Isaac and Israel, let it be knowntoday that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me,Lord, answer me, so these people will knowthat you,Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fireof theLordfell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrateand cried, “TheLord—he is God! TheLord—he is God!”
Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valleyand slaughteredthere.
Luke 22:41-46 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt downand prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cupfrom me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?”he asked them.“Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Philippians 2:1-11 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy completeby being like-minded,having the same love, being onein spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with Godsomething to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very natureof a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted himto the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Romans 13:1-7 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities,for there is no authority except that which God has established.The authorities that exist have been established by God.Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes,for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes;if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Hebrews 13:17-18 Have confidence in your leadersand submit to their authority, because they keep watch over youas those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Pray for us.We are sure that we have a clear conscienceand desire to live honorably in every way.
"If you are not governed by God, you will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn
The Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return to establish God's kingdom on earth. Until that day, however, mankind will continue to pursue power according to the world's standards: wealth, fame, influence and so on. Our mission in the meantime is to face the challenges of life with the strength, courage and authority that are ours through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; to witness to others in the power of the Holy Spirit, to achieve victory over the power of sin.
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 02 Mar 2025 23:10:13 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call8608309PEACE
"The knowledge that we are never alone calms the troubled sea of our lives and speaks peace to our souls." A.W. Tozer
Peace that comes from God is not a state of happiness that depends on circumstances. It is a deep, inner confidence that God is alive in us, working all things together for our good.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubledand do not be afraid.
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justifiedthrough faith,wehave peacewith God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained accessby faith into this grace in which we now stand.And weboast in the hopeof the glory of God. Not only so, but wealso glory in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hopedoes not put us to shame, because God’s lovehas been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,who has been given to us.
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good newsto the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 22:22:31 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call1171360Self Control Romans 7:14 - 8:3 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual,soldas a slave to sin.I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work:Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner beingI delight in God’s law;but I see another law at work in me, waging waragainst the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sinat work within me.What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,but in my sinful naturea slave to the law of sin.
Therefore, there is now no condemnationfor those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesusthe law of the Spirit who gives lifehas set youfreefrom the law of sinand death. For what the law was powerlessto do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful fleshto be a sin offering.And so he condemned sin in the flesh
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,the new creationhas come:The old has gone, the new is here!
Galatians 2;20 I have been crucified with Christand I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved meand gave himself for me.
Self-Control "I have more trouble with D.L. Moody than with any other man I ever met." - D.L. Moody
Think, feel, say and do what you please and don't worry about the consequences, say the purveyors of pop wisdom. However, they fail to mention that totally surrendering to your urges can have disastrous results, such as damaged relationships, personal humiliation, guilt and remorse, to name a few. The standards of godliness exemplified by Jesus Christ replace the popular notion of self-indulgence with self-control based on obedience to God's Word. Exercising self-control in our thoughts, feelings, words and actions not only pleases God but also makes us better ambassadors for His kingdom.
I am who God Almighty says I am. I have what God Almighty says I have. I have the mind of Christ. I have the character of His Wisdom. I believe, I think what I believe.
Love from above from my heart to your heart. ]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 05 Jan 2025 22:16:14 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call1370166LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
2 Peter 1:3-11 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Love is the very nature of God Almighty
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 01 Dec 2024 22:35:33 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call5067799JOY 1 Thessalonians 16-18; 23-24 Rejoice always,pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
"I never knew what joy was until I gave up pursuing happiness." Malcolm Muggeridge
Joy to the world, the Lord has come. How often do we think about those words as more than just lyrics to a Christmas song? Along with peace, joy is a treasure for which people search their entire lives. Christians know that lasting joy has already come - in our Savior Jesus Christ? Imagine if everyone experienced the true joy of the season. What would your life be like without the joy that God provides? Do others know you've found His joy?
]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:49:56 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call5699374Generosity "The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation." Corrie ten Boom
Everyone enjoys the generous spirit of the holiday season. Christians are called to live by God's standard of giving year-round.
Malachi 3:6-12 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”[a] Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Generosity is the nature and character of God Almighty.]]><![CDATA[Wisdom Call]]>Tue, 01 Oct 2024 15:28:26 GMThttp://christianeducationinafrica.com/cea-blog/wisdom-call8081148Righteousness "Reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and the angels know of us." Thomas Paine
Christians know that God's laws are the final say on acceptable behavior and that following our own desires can land us in quicksand. But righteousness goes further than merely behaving properly. The standard of true righteousness consists not so much of the outward things we do, but in the inward things we are. God never alters the robe of righteousness to fit the us, but us to fit the robe.
Psalm 85:10-13 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps
2 Corinthians 5:13-21 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.