WHAT TO DO WITH UNUSED ABILITIES

“When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed.” (Luke 12:43 NCV)

All of us have unused abilities. But there are three ways that you can start cultivating your abilities so that they are being used for good and God’s glory.

1. Estimate your abilities.
You need to do an assessment of your life. Do an audit of your abilities. What are you good at? Make a list. If there’s one thing I could say to young people today to prepare for their future, this is it: 

Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses. Estimate your capabilities by the light of faith God has given you.
Parents, help your kids understand their SHAPE — their spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. Your children have far more abilities than they think.

2. Dedicate your abilities.
Commit them to God for the use he intended. Romans 12:1 says, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him” (GN). Say, “God, you gave me these abilities. Now I’m going to give them back to you. I want to use them for the purpose for which you gave them to me.”

3. Cultivate your abilities.
That means practice, improve, sharpen, and develop. Any ability that God has given you can be increased with use.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 10:10, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (NIV). How do you get skill? Practice. God says you need to sharpen your ax. A dull ax takes more energy. He says work smarter, not harder.

Sharpening your abilities — your aptitudes, your skills — is a spiritual responsibility. God has made an enormous investment in you.
First, he created you. Second, he shaped you with spiritual gifts and personality. Then he sent Jesus to die for you. God has made an incredible investment in your life! And he expects a return on the investment. He’s going to ask you one day, “What did you do with what you were given? Did you use your abilities to honor me, to serve others, to make a living, and to be an example? Did you use them to help other people? Did you use them to help the Church? Did you use them to make money to give away? What did you do with what you were given?”

In Luke 12:43, Jesus said, “When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed” (NCV). I want you to have that blessing. When that time comes in your life, I don’t want God to find you lounging around, wasting your talent. I want him to find you using your abilities in the ways that God intended.

Take time to thank God right now. Thank him for the abilities he’s given you. Say, “God I don’t even know all the abilities I’ve got, but I thank you for them. Help me to discover them.

Today I dedicate them back to you. I want to use what you’ve given me for your purposes. I want to cultivate my abilities. I want to get better at what I’m doing. I want to honor you by being the best I can be. I want to use my abilities to honor you, to serve others, to make a living, and to be an example. I want to use my abilities to have money to share with those who are poor and to help my church grow and reach out. Help me to make it so. I pray this in your name. Amen.”

Written by Rick Warren

EDUCATION WITHOUT WALLS: THE NEXT LEVEL

One of the greatest  challenges of our time is ‘addressing illiteracy globally, and bridging the gap between the ‘school’ and the ‘industry’. Today, illiteracy threatens over 785 million adults worldwide, translating into one in every five people on the planet with either no or just basic reading skills.

Two-thirds of the illiterate population is women. The scale of illiteracy among youth also represents an enormous challenge according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). An estimated 122 million youth globally are illiterate, of which young women represent 60.7 %. The 67.4 million children who are out of school are likely to encounter great difficulties in the future, as deficient or non-existent basic education is the root cause of illiteracy according to UNESCO.

Although the 98% of illiterate people are concentrated in South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, developed nations are also facing a growing illiteracy problem. In the U.S. , over 93 million people have basic or below basic literacy skills.

I strongly recommend ‘education without walls’ also known as distant learning or online education. It differs from the traditional education in that students are not required to visit an actual classroom and listen to an instructor face-to-face. Online education offers a holistic and complete virtual learning experience. Working adults can also continue their education, earn higher degrees, and earn more money by attending courses that primarily take place over the internet.

Click here to access 8 free distance learning degrees.

WHO'S YOUR HOPE IN? (GOD'S NOT DEAD.)

I borrowed my title from a scene in the movie, 'God's not Dead' where Amy (Trisha LaFache), a left-wing blogger was posed with the question, '...who's your hope in?’ by the Newboys in the concert’s dressing room.

The film was written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, and was directed by Harold Cronk. The film follows an evangelical Christian college student ( Shane Harper ) who finds his faith challenged by a philosophy professor who believes that God does not exist.

Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper ), an evangelical college student, enrolls in a philosophy class taught by Professor Jeffrey Radisson ( Kevin Sorbo), an atheist, who demands that his students sign a declaration that "God is dead" to get a passing grade. Josh is the only student in the class who refuses to sign and is then required by Radisson to debate the topic with him, with the class members deciding who wins.

Radisson gives Josh twenty minutes at the end of the first three lecture sessions to argue that God exists. In the first two debates, Radisson has counter arguments for all of Josh's points.
Josh's girlfriend Kara (Cassidy Gifford) tries to convince him to either drop out of class or follow Radisson's rules, fearing that standing up to Radisson will jeopardize their academic future, but she eventually breaks up with him when he refuses to disown his belief in God. Ultimately, it comes down to the third and final debate between Radisson and Josh, who again both make compelling points. Josh then halts his line of debate to pose a question to Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" After Josh repeats the question twice more, Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God for his mother's death that left him alone despite his prayers. Josh then casually asks Radisson how he can hate someone that does not exist. In the end, Martin (Paul Kwo), a foreign exchange student whose father had encouraged him not to convert to Christianity so he can stay focused with the class, stands up and says "God's not dead."

Almost the entire class follows Martin's lead, causing Radisson to leave the room in defeat.
Against the backdrop of the debates, a series of peripherally related subplots develop. Radisson dates Mina (Cory Oliver), an evangelical whom he often belittles in front of his fellow atheist colleagues. Her brother Mark (Dean Cain), a successful businessman and atheist, refuses to visit their mother, who suffers from dementia.

Mark's girlfriend, Amy (Trisha LaFache), is a left-wing blogger who writes articles critical of Duck Dynasty . When she is diagnosed with cancer, Mark dumps her. A Muslim student named Ayisha (Hadeel Sittu) secretly converts to Christianity and is disowned by her infuriated father when he finds out.
After the final debate, Josh invites Martin to attend the Newsboys concert that is in town. Radisson reads a letter from his late mother, and is moved to reconcile with Mina. Amy confronts the Newsboys in their dressing room, only to admit that she wants to get to know God. While on his way to find Mina, Radisson is struck by a car and fatally injured. Reverend Dave ( David A. R. White ) finds him and guides him in becoming an evangelical Christian as he dies. Mark at last visits his mother, only to taunt her; she responds that all of his financial success was given to him by Satan to keep him from turning to God.

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which part to take.’ Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT).

(Story sourced from Wikipedia)

8 Free Distance Learning Degrees

Hello!

Here are 8 free distance learning degrees you can apply for.

1. University of the People Tuition Free Degrees
University of the People offers online, accredited, tuition-free, American university degrees. The programs are taught by world-class professors hailing from universities such as NYU, Harvard, Oxford and more in a supportive virtual small classroom setting. UoPeople prepares its students for employment by offering internship and mentoring programs to gain hands-on experience with its partners such as HP and Microsoft; in addition to academic study of the industry. To find out more, please view here: www.uopeople.edu .

2. Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in partnership with UK Universities offers distance learning scholarships as part of the commitment of the Commission and the Department for International Development’s (DFID) commitment to explore new methods of scholarship delivery. The scholarships are targeted to citizens of developing commonwealth countries. The scholarships cover the overseas tuition fees at the Masters degree level.

3. Edinburgh Global Distance Learning Scholarships
The University of Edinburgh offer Master’s scholarships for about 20+ distance learning Master’s programmes currently offered by the University related to social sciences, health and medicine. The scholarships are targeted to citizens of selected developing countries. Each scholarship will have a total value of £5,000 which will be deducted from the tuition fee for the entire part-time programme of study. See also Edinburgh Global Health Academy Distance Learning Scholarships

4. edX Free Online Courses at Premier Universities.
edX is a learning platform that gives students from any country the opportunity to take free online courses offered by premier Universities around the world.  The course are available to anyone in the world – from any demographic – who has interest in advancing their own knowledge. With the exception of professional education courses, edX courses are free for everyone. Some courses have a fee for verified certificates but are free to audit.

5. Global Campus 21 Academy Online Training Scholarships.
The Global Campus 21 E-Academy enables professional expertise, managerial skills and leadership experience to be gained, extended and passed on in developing countries through online training courses at the Global Campus 21 E-Academy. A number of tuition scholarships are available for selected courses to qualified specialists and managers from developing countries and countries in transition who work in positions relevant to development in the private and public sectors.

6. Coursera
Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Currently, they offer courses in a
wide range of topics, spanning the Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, Computer Science, and many others.

7. Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. With a library of over 4,500 videos on everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and hundreds of skills to practice, Khan Academy will help you learn what you want, when you want, at your own pace.

8. Academic Earth
Academic Earth believes everyone deserves access to a world-class education. The platform offers a comprehensive collection of free online courses from the world’s top universities.

I hope you find the information useful? Recommend and drop your comments. Thanks!