Note that the only way that Christ can be properly expressed is if every member of a church freely supplies that aspect of the Lord that he or she has received. Make no mistake about it: The Lord Jesus cannot be fully disclosed through only one member. He is far too rich for that (Eph. 3:8).

Daily Bible Lesson. YOUR PAST DOES NOT DISQUALIFY YOU John: 4:13–18, 28–29 "Lord, quiet my heart as I spend these few minutes with You. Help me set aside the burden of past mistakes, regret, or shame. Open my eyes to see how Your grace covers my entire history, and remind me that my past is never a barrier to Your purpose for my life. Amen." In the ancient Near East, women gathered water at the well during the cool early morning or late evening. It was a social, shared routine. But in John 4, a Samaritan woman comes to Jacob’s well at noon—the hottest, most unforgiving hour of the day. She wasn't avoiding the heat; she was avoiding the people. Her life was marked by brokenness: five previous husbands, and a current living arrangement that offered no security or honor in her community. She carried the weight of public judgment, self-reliance, and isolation. When Jesus asked her for a drink, He broke three major cultural barriers at once: social (men didn't speak to women publicly), religious/ethnic (Jews avoided Samaritans), and moral (rabbinic traditions avoided public interaction with people of ill repute). Jesus didn't ignore her past. In fact, He directly addressed it: “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” — John 4:16–18 Notice how Jesus speaks: He states facts without condemnation. He exposes her true condition not to humiliate her, but to show her that He knows everything about her and still wants to offer her living water. Many people live under the impression that God only uses those with pristine backgrounds. We assume that past failures, bad choices, or deep regret relegate us to the spiritual sidelines. The Samaritan woman’s story flips that assumption completely: Full Exposure Leads to Full Acceptance: Jesus knew her complete history before He started the conversation. God never looks at your past and says, "I didn't realize you did that." His offer of grace is given with full knowledge of your worst moments. From Hiding to Witnessing: After meeting Jesus, the woman left her water jar behind—the very symbol of her daily burden and isolation—and ran back into the city she had been avoiding. A Voice for the City: The very town that judged her became her mission field. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). Your past does not disqualify you from God's love or His purpose. In God’s hands, the very mess you tried to hide can become the message that points others to freedom. Take a moment to reflect or write down your thoughts on these questions: 1. What past mistake or area of regret do you tend to hold onto, assuming it limits how God can use you? 2. How does knowing that Jesus fully understood the woman's past before offering her living water change how you view His offer to you? "Father, thank You that my past does not dictate my future in Your Kingdom. Thank You that You see every flaw, every regret, and every mistake, yet You still call me, love me, and offer me living water. Give me the courage to leave my 'water jar' of shame behind and walk confidently in the purpose You have for me today. In Jesus' name, Amen."

LOST IN THE CHURCH: [GETTING LOST IN CHURCH] Part Seven Worshipping the Word of God/Scripture. The Word of God, together with the Church, are among the things given to us for the purpose of salvation, to bring people to God, although they themselves are not God. Therefore, I can say that the Word of God is like a signpost pointing us to where Christ is. When a person ends up building his life upon the Word of God without going to Jesus Christ, this becomes the foundation of one of the greatest deceptions of religious spirits and idolatry in the Church. If you read John chapter five, you will see how the Lord spoke to those who had fallen into this kind of deception: > “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:39–40 Today, many people have ended up in religious institutions, while others have ended up in Scripture, yet they have never truly come to Jesus to receive life. Jesus did not come to establish any religion or bring a system of laws to the world; rather, He came to restore the RELATIONSHIP between humanity and God—the relationship that was lost in Eden. It is within this relationship that salvation and eternal life are found. > “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 A person can know all the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, and may even teach them with great skill and accuracy, yet never have encountered or truly known the Lord. It may be easy for someone to explain things about the Lord based on what they have heard from other people. However, it is completely different to know the Lord personally. Jesus is the Way and the Life. There is no way for anyone to come to the Father except through Him. And when He says that He is the Way, many people picture a dusty road, a gravel road, or a paved road. But the Way He is talking about here is a Person. To know the way to heaven is to know a Person. And you cannot truly know Him without having a relationship with Him. > “Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:23 It is entirely possible for someone to preach, teach the Word of God, cast out demons, and perform many works of the Kingdom, yet still not know the Lord—and likewise, not be known in Heaven. It is easy for a person to build a name for himself and become famous on earth, but it is very different to be known in Heaven. Many of the things we glorify on earth are often considered worthless before God. Therefore, it is possible for someone to be well-known in Heaven while having no name or recognition on earth. Glorifying the Word More Than the One Who Gave the Word There has been a very strange tendency among people to glorify the Word of God more than God Himself, who gave the Word. In this way, many people hold on to what God said yesterday against what He is saying today. For example, it is possible for God to say “Yes” yesterday concerning a particular matter and say “No” today, according to His will and timing. If we have not learned how to walk with the Lord, it is very easy to cling to a dead word, which undoubtedly becomes an idol. In this way, we have many churches today that have died because they continue holding on to a dead word. The Apostle Peter is one of the examples in Scripture of someone who almost made such a painful mistake. He resisted the Lord’s command concerning the animals, relying on the earlier word from the same God who had declared those animals unclean. However, by His great mercy, the Lord corrected Peter and told him: > “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” Acts 10:15 #ToBeContinued..! Mwl. Ernest Nyalula WhatsApp: +255 616 609 885 #LostInTheChurch #JesusChrist #WordOfGod #Christianity #ChristianLife #FaithInChrist #KnowJesus #RelationshipWithGod #BibleTruth #SpiritualGrowth #KingdomOfGod #ChristianTeaching #FaithAndTruth #GodsWord #JesusIsTheWay #ChristianYouth #GospelTruth #WalkWithGod #KnowGod #ToBeContinued

Brenda Walsh Ministries For God’s Eyes Only. "Ministry" is all about serving others. In fact, the name itself comes from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning "to serve," and is not meant to be a position of glory or prestige. This isn’t a job for someone wanting to be noticed and held in high esteem, but rather a life of humility, quietly serving–not to impress others, but for the approval of God’s eyes only! However, there are some who think that “ministry” is only for the work of pastors or traveling evangelists. But God has called us all to be “ministers.” The Bible says in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” But to heed God’s command, you must be fueled by Holy Spirit power! In 1 Peter 4:11, we’re told, “If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” The keywords are “the ability which GOD supplies!” Make no mistake, God is calling YOU to minister for Him! But first, you must come before His throne with a humble heart, and pray for an anointing of His Holy Spirit so that God can use you in a mighty way! And don’t forget to ask Him to strip away all pride and pretentiousness–giving you a servant’s heart so that you won’t be tempted to work for the applause of others–but to truly glorify your Lord and Savior! Text: James 4:10, Psalm 25:9, Romans 12:6-7, Psalm 51:17

Praise the Lord everyone. I joined this group so that I can connect with fellow believers from around the world, share my experiences, request for prayers and interact but I am disappointed that not one person responded to my prayer request for my son's salvation. I also noticed that people here hardly respond to the posts here. I wonder if I made a mistake joining this group. As fellow believers we are required to encourage one another and uplift each other in prayer but I am sorry that is missing here. I will wait and see for another week and maybe exit this group.

✝️ God didn't make a mistake calling you. #HeartForGod #FaithOverRoutine #SpiritualRenewal #JesusFirst #BackToGod #FaithJourney #LordsbookApp

My God, I did not thank You because I have so much, but because so much of what I have has become ordinary to me, and still, You have not taken it away. I thank You for the things I no longer ask for, because I have grown accustomed to finding them whenever I open my eyes each morning. For a home I return to, until I began to believe that returning was something I was entitled to. For a body that carries me through every day, until I forgot to thank You simply because it does not hurt. For faces I love, still where they have always been. For voices I can still hear, until I forgot that somewhere, someone is longing to hear just one more word from a voice they have lost. How many blessings do we never thank You for simply because they never changed? We mistake stability for something ordinary, protection for something passing, peace for something we deserve, and the people we love for a permanent part of life. Until one of them is gone. And only then do we realize, too late, that it was never ordinary at all. My God, teach me not to wait for loss to understand the value of what You have given me. Not to wait for sickness to understand the gift of health. Not to wait for loneliness to understand the blessing of companionship. Not to wait for fear to understand the meaning of safety. Teach me to see the blessing while it is still here, and to thank You for what I have stopped noticing. Not because I am afraid of losing it, but because I finally understand that its staying was never something ordinary. Perhaps the greatest of Your blessings are the ones we do not even have the courage to call blessings, because we have grown so accustomed to their presence that we began to believe they were ours by right. And how much of what we called our right was, in truth… mercy.

TUESDAY 18TH AUGUST 2026 Topic: Do Not Let One Failure Define You Bible Reference “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” Proverbs 24:16 (NKJV) A Short Story David had failed an important examination. He had studied, but not as much as he should have. When the result came out, the score was far below what he expected. He stared at the result for several minutes. He felt ashamed. Some of his friends had done well, and he could not stop comparing himself with them. When he got home, he threw his school bag on the floor and sat quietly. His mother noticed that something was wrong, but David did not want to talk. That night, he began thinking about himself differently. He started telling himself that perhaps he was not intelligent enough. Maybe he would always struggle. Maybe success was simply not meant for him. The failure had lasted only one examination, but David had allowed it to become a description of his entire life. The following morning, his youth leader called him. David explained what had happened. After listening to him, the youth leader said, “You failed an examination. You are not a failure.” Those words stayed with David. He went back to his books. This time, he changed his study habits. He asked questions when he did not understand something and stopped pretending that he understood what he did not. Months later, he sat for another examination. His result was much better. David learned something important. Falling was not the end of his story. Refusing to rise would have been. Today's Message Failure can make you question yourself. One mistake can make you believe that you are incapable of succeeding. But your failure is an event, not your identity. The Bible says that a righteous person may fall and still rise again. Notice that the scripture does not say the righteous never fall. It says they rise. God is not looking for people who have never made mistakes. He is looking for people who are willing to learn, repent when necessary, grow, and continue walking with Him. You may have failed in school, business, ministry, a relationship, or an important decision. You may have disappointed yourself. But do not allow one bad season to convince you that your entire future is ruined. Learn from what happened. Correct what needs to be corrected. Ask God for wisdom, and get up again. Your story is not over because you fell. What To Do Today 1. Identify what your failure taught you instead of only thinking about what you lost. 2. Correct one mistake that contributed to the failure. 3. Stop calling yourself what God has not called you. 4. Take another step instead of remaining discouraged. Prayer Lord, give me the strength to rise whenever I fall. Help me to learn from my mistakes without allowing them to destroy my confidence. Give me wisdom to do better and grace to keep moving forward. In Jesus' name, Amen. Daily Challenge Think about one failure that has been discouraging you. Write down one lesson it taught you and one thing you can do differently from today. ©️ Anthony Ijere Christian Author and Revivalist

Be a Peacemaker (Matthew 5:9) We live in a world where conflict is everywhere. Arguments happen in families. Friendships break over misunderstandings. People fight over opinions. Social media turns disagreements into battles. Sometimes, even Christians can become so focused on proving themselves right that they forget to show the character of Christ. But Jesus gives us a different calling: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Notice that Jesus didn't say, “Blessed are the people who win every argument.” He said: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Being a peacemaker doesn't mean avoiding every difficult conversation. It doesn't mean pretending that wrong is right. It doesn't mean allowing people to mistreat you. And it doesn't mean remaining silent when something needs to be addressed. Being a peacemaker means choosing a response that seeks reconciliation rather than revenge. Sometimes peace begins with listening. Before responding in anger, listen. Before assuming someone's intentions, ask questions. Before posting something hurtful, pause. Before repeating someone's mistake to others, consider whether your words will help or destroy. The Bible reminds us that a gentle answer can turn away anger. Your words have power. You can use them to heal or to wound. To build or to tear down. To reconcile or to divide. Think about your relationships today. Is there someone you're angry with? Someone you haven't spoken to? Someone you need to forgive? Someone you need to apologize to? Maybe you've been waiting for the other person to make the first move. But sometimes following Jesus means having the courage to take the first step. Say: “I'm sorry.” Say: “Can we talk?” Say: “I forgive you.” Say: “Let's work this out.” Those words don't make you weak. They can demonstrate the strength of Christ working in you. Jesus Himself is our greatest example. He came to reconcile sinful humanity to God. The cross shows us that God doesn't simply ignore broken relationships. He made a way for reconciliation. And if we have received God's grace, we should become people who extend grace to others. So don't be the person who adds fuel to every argument. Don't spread gossip. Don't celebrate someone else's failure. Don't use social media to attack people. Don't allow pride to destroy relationships that could be restored. Instead, be the person who brings calm into chaotic situations. Be the person who listens. Be the person who encourages forgiveness. Be the person who speaks truth with love. Be the person who points people toward Christ. And remember: You cannot control how everyone responds to you. Your responsibility is to control your own response and pursue peace wherever it is possible. As Romans 12:18 teaches, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Sometimes peace will require boundaries. Sometimes it will require distance. Sometimes reconciliation won't be possible immediately. But even then, you can refuse to allow hatred to control your heart. Pray for those who hurt you. Give the situation to God. Choose grace over revenge. Choose wisdom over anger. Choose peace over pride. In a world that is quick to fight, be someone who brings the peace of Christ. Is there a relationship or conflict where you can take one step toward peace today? #BeAPeacemaker #Matthew59 #Peace #ChristianLiving #FaithInAction #Forgiveness #LoveLikeJesus #ChristianYouth #JesusSaves #ShareJesus #DailyFaith #Lordsbook #JMSM # KNKA

*Learning to Live Humbly* Have you ever met an angry Christian? You may have come across Christians who seem to grumble, complain, or even speak harshly about other people. Maybe we’ve even been that person at times in our own life. If we're not careful, we can easily become self-righteous within Christianity. After all, we know the truth and others may not. We might see how tempting it can be to look down on others, demean them, or consider them as worse off than ourselves. But this misses the point of the Gospel of Jesus. The Gospel tells us that all of us begin at the same starting point. And it’s only by Grace through faith that we come to Salvation and learn the truth about God’s love for us. That doesn’t make us any better than other Christians! In fact, as Paul says in *Ephesians 4:2,* we should actually be humble and gentle with others, rather than harsh and critical. He says we are to be patient with one another, helping each other in every way possible so we can all grow together. These ideas aren’t original to Paul. They actually came from how Jesus lived His life. As followers of Jesus, we too should strive to be gentle, humble, and patient with everyone in our lives. Regardless of whether they look or think a different way, every person deserves dignity, patience, and love. Let's take some time today to consider a few ways that we can grow in patience, humility, and love with others. It could be slowing down long enough for people to know we care, saying something encouraging to someone, or admitting that we’ve made a mistake. Let's make the decision today to live in humility and grace with others. *Prayer For Love* Father God, Your Word inspires us to be humble and gentle; to lead with patience and unconditional love. But we can't live that way without Your help. Teach us how to extend grace and forgiveness to those around us. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.