Devotions - Prayer
It is easy to be frightened by the wickedness we see all around us and to be overwhelmed by the problems we face.
“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'” – Acts 19:15
Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness?
Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder any believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God.
However, “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4b ). WE FIGHT FROM VICTORY NOT FOR VICTORY!
• If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy.
• God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God.
• These times reveal God’s power to keep us and walk us through the temptations.
• Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name.
• We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ’s church. When we believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from Jesus and back to sin.
• Although we are assured of victory we must engage in the struggle until Christ returns, because Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord’s side.
Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master.
When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn’t like this.
Put on the whole Armor of God which is supernatural power to defeat satan . God Has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit within us and giving us His armor to surround us. (Read Ephesians 6:10-20).
May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us Lord to submit to Your leadership and humble service to one another to build unity in the Body. Amen
My Soul Thirsts for God
By John Piper
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1–2)
What makes this so beautiful and so crucial for us is that he is not thirsting mainly for relief from his threatening circumstances. He is not thirsting mainly for escape from his enemies or for their destruction.
It’s not wrong to want relief and to pray for it. It is sometimes right to pray for the defeat of enemies. But more important than any of that is God himself.
When we think and feel with God in the Psalms, this is the main result: We come to love God, and we want to see God and be with God and be satisfied in admiring and exulting in God.
A likely translation of the end of verse 2 is: “When will I come and see the face of God?” The final answer to that question was given in John 14:9 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And Paul said that when we are converted to Christ we see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
When we see the face of Christ, we see the face of God. And we see the glory of his face when we hear the story of the gospel of his death and resurrection. It is “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
May the Lord increase your hunger and your thirst to see the face of God. And may he grant your desire through the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
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“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! (Luke 245-6).
HE IS RISEN—-HE IS RISEN—–HE IS RISEN!
Believing the Truth – John 20:1-18
Nothing more is required for our salvation other than the price Christ already paid.
*Our sin-debt is paid in full, and the empty tomb is our receipt.
The Life of Christ IS the Death of FEAR!
Matthew 28:5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.
The true purpose of our Christian walk is to freely lay down our lives so God’s Love can pour through us to others.
* “Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down His Life for his friends.” John 15:13
Have we allowed our prideful thoughts, wounded emotions and self-centered desires to quench God’s Love in our hearts and separate us from each other?
*”The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.” 1 John 2:9
Can you imagine what our marriage, families, churches, and communities would be like if more of us were walking in God’s unconditional Love?
* “…they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”Acts 2:46-47
*Why are you crying? What is it that has caused you pain or sorrow?
*Who are you looking for? What will make you whole? What will fix the problem?
*When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden by the tomb, she supposed that He was the gardener.
Her heart was heavy and she cried out, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him” (John 20:15).
Some of us don’t know what to do with the “Truth of the Resurrection”!
* For Easter, we sing certain hymns and we have traditions that we do in the service and in meals at home.
But the broader concept of the Resurrection, this is harder to grasp.
*1Corinthians 15:13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
**Without the Resurrection, Jesus is merely a dead and moral martyr who provided great teaching.
John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
**Recovering the Resurrection.
This begins with remembering what Jesus said.
In the first occurrence after the crucifixion and resurrection, the angels first say to the disciples at the empty tomb, “Remember what Jesus said” and the disciples remembered.
*So often, we forget what the Bible teaches about the resurrection, about the power and meaning of it.
* Our wonder will grow cold without His Word!
*We also need to repent for forgetting His Word!
*We need to remember that his death and resurrection “Solved the Problem of Sin and Death”!!!!
*Jesus death and resurrection empowers everything that Jesus said.
*What do we do in the midst of our wonder?
*We need to remember that WE are made FOR Jesus, and not the other way around.
*Maybe the important thing that we need to do is to not “do”, but to LIVE in wonder.
*This will lead to the outward expression of how we respond.
Sometime we just need to be still and allow ourselves to be filled by God’s Holy Spirit Inspired Word.
This resurrection wonder will lead to transformed lives, where each Sunday service and each day we live revolves around the Hope of a Risen Savior.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’
(which is to say, Teacher)” (John 20: 16). Jesus knows the names of those who love Him—and He called Mary by her name.
Jesus then told her, “Do not cling to Me” (John 20: 17). Jesus knew Mary was not going to let go of Him. Her heart was crying, “I lost You once, but I’m never going to lose You again!”
It must have taken a lot of courage for Mary to heed Jesus’ words to her.
You see, He told her He was going to be gone for awhile and she should go to the others and “. . . say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father’” (verse 17).
Mary quickly returned to the disciples who had returned home after seeing that Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
These simple fishermen were gathered together in one room, perhaps cleaning their old fishing gear. They were not theologians but they had been trained for three years at the Master’s feet.
It was Mary, however, who had the revelation! These men had to sit and listen to a woman who had heard from Jesus. Can you imagine the scene?
“What did He say? What did He look like?” Mary answered simply, “All I know is, I saw Him. And He told me to come here and tell you something!”
I love to hear devoted men and women of God say the words Mary said: “I’ve
heard from Him and I have something to say!”
Like Mary Magdalene, we should all have a heart so given to the Lord that He gives us His mind and says, “Go tell the brethren!”
Acts 22:15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
*Our testimony is simply a personal account of the work that God began in our lives, put to words to share with others.
*Testimonies proclaim God’s faithfulness, power, and glory to all who hear.
* God does wonderful and miraculous things in our lives, which are meant to be shared.
* Your testimony will bring God glory and encourage someone, which may lead them to a relationship with Christ.
*Don’t hide your light under a basket.
Revelation 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
*The only thing that can change the hearts of those around us, is the Holy Spirit.
So when we share our testimony, we share the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, presenting an opportunity for the Spirit to move in someone else’s life.
*Your Personal Testimony of what Jesus has done for YOU has power!
God’s Love expressed through us is the only thing that will bring our spouses, children, relatives and friends to Christ.
* “…may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men…”Colossians 3:12
Come to the truth of the Lord’s Word in all things. Only in truth can your faith be established and exercised to overcome adversity. The Lord has given you precious promises of Victory and the authority to succeed. It is of vital importance that you control your thoughts and emotions as you put your trust in the Lord. Refuse to allow fear to gain any ground in you.
*2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Bless the Lord by blessing someone less fortunate today through Your……Time, Talent & Treasures.
* “And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness…and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”
Isaiah 58:10-11
Jesus Has Risen! Jesus has Risen Indeed! I pray the world will see the true meaning of Easter and read Isaiah 53 and ask “How could this be predicted 700 years before this all took place?” And know that the Word of God is 100 percent True and Trustworthy and we all have The Faith and Hope of spending Eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Thank You JESUS! You have RISEN Indeed! Amen
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16a NIV).
Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.
The Bible says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”(James 5:16a NIV). So let me ask you: Do you want to be forgiven? That’s the first step. Do you want to be emotionally healed? That’s something different.
If you just want to be forgiven, you just confess your sin to God. But if you want to get over this and get on with your life, you need emotional healing. That means you need to tell somebody else.
You say, “Why? Why do we do this? Why does God want me to drag somebody else into this?” I’ll tell you why. Because God knows that the root of our problem is relational. We don’t even realize that. Our messed-up relationships with other people are the root of our problems.
When we don’t have one person in our lives that we’re completely honest with, we wear masks. We pretend and we fake it and we’re dishonest with each other and we play games and we’re hypocrites. We pretend that we have it all together, when everybody knows we don’t. We act like it’s all right when it’s not.
What does that do?
- It isolates you from other people.
- It prevents intimacy.
- And it keeps you from the deepest level of love.
- You cannot love fully with guilt in your heart.
You are only as sick as your secrets. The fact is, the more you hide, the sicker you get. On the other hand, revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.
There’s something about telling another person that uncorks the pressure valve. When you let the boogeyman out of the closet, all of a sudden, the boogeyman isn’t so big any more.
If you want healing, you’ve got to stop concealing. The very thing that you don’t want anybody to know about, that’s the area where God wants to give you the most grace, mercy, and healing.
Lord, give me the Grace to move forward in my healing. Amen
Read MoreWhen Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit. —John 19:30
- The cross was the goal of Jesus from the very beginning.
- His birth was so there would be His death.
- The incarnation was for our atonement.
- He was born to die so that we might live.
- And when He had accomplished the purpose He had come to fulfill, He summed it up with a single word: “finished.”
So what was finished? Finished and completed were the horrendous sufferings of Christ.
- Never again would He experience pain at the hand of wicked men.
- Never again would He have to bear the sins of the world.
- Never again would He, even for a moment, be forsaken of God. That was completed. That was taken care of.
Also finished was Satan’s stronghold on humanity.
Jesus came to deal a decisive blow against the devil and his demons at the cross of Calvary.
Hebrews 2:14 says, “Only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who hadthe power of death.” This means that you no longer have to be under the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, finished was the stronghold of Satan on humanity.
And lastly, finished was our salvation. It is completed. It is done. All of our sins were transferred to Jesus when He hung on the cross. His righteousness was transferred to our account.
So Jesus cried out the words, “It is finished!” It was God’s deliberate and well-thought-out plan. It is finished—so rejoice!
Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins that I may be set free to choice You as my Lord and Savior. Amen
Read MoreFaith and Blessing go hand in hand, partnering in God’s plan for you.
*Faith always leads and blessing always follows.
We must be willing to obey God’s Will and do exactly what He asks us to do, no matter what we think or how we feel.
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” Luke 5:5
The Lord is telling us that we cannot experience victory unless we go out further than we have never gone before.
*If we continually stay at the shallow side, we will continue to experience mediocrity, which is not God’s will for us.
*We must take the first step and continue to walk on water, during this walking we will experience adversity and trials of many kinds, but we still must push until we reach our deep, where we will receive the Lord’s blessing.
*Have you ever felt tempted to look at your accomplishments with pride as if you were the reason for your success?
*Have you ever thought your prosperity was due to your ingenuity?
*Has your material success been a testimony to others that God is the ruler of all aspects of your life, even the material side?
Joseph’s greatest test was not his temptation to be bitter against his brothers.
**It was the temptation of prosperity and ownership. Once he was elevated, he was given choices that he never had before. It was totally up to him as to which choice he would make.
**God is the source of all good things. Ask God today if your life models this belief.
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
When you Fall in love with Jesus it is no longer about his power it is about His person!
Heavenly Father teach me that I must go out into the deep with you, where I will experience you than like never before. Thank You Jesus that we fight FROM Victory and NOT For Victory. (1 JN 4:4) Amen
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Almost every Christian at some time in his life has had to face the problem of unanswered prayer.
*A prayer goes unanswered for weeks and months—even years.
*An unexpected illness or tragedy claims a loved one.
*Things happen that have no rhyme or reason and then faith begins to falter.
But the Word makes it very clear that a wavering person will never receive anything from God.
Jesus understood this tendency in His children to hold grudges against heaven when mountains are not moved on schedule.
*Jesus warned Peter not to ask anything when standing in God’s presence lest he be unforgiving in some matter.
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25).
I believe Jesus is saying, Don’t stand in God’s presence asking for
mountains to be removed or for forgiveness of your sins, if you have a secret grudge in your heart against a brother or sister in Christ.
*Get it out! Let the Spirit of forgiveness flow through you.
*Cry out to your faithful Father. He has not failed. He will answer. He will supply.
*Submit yourself and ask Him to forgive you for allowing these doubts to spring up.
The most difficult thing in all the world for Christians to do is forgive.
Even the best Christians find it hard to forgive those who injure their pride.
Nothing infuriates us more than to discover someone has lied to us.
In His teaching on prayer Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:11-12).
Lord, my prayer is that the entire Body of Christ (the Church) will go to You in prayer and work out our differences and not suppress the truth, but renew our minds on the Truths and Promises You give us through Your word on the Spirit of Forgiveness. Take the Pride from our hearts and minds, helping us see clearly that we are all on the same team and will be spending Eternity Together. Amen
by John Piper
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5)
The great missionary hope is that when the gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, God himself does what man cannot do: he creates the faith that saves. The call of God does what the call of man can’t. It raises the dead. It creates spiritual life. It is like the call of Jesus to Lazarus in the tomb, “Come out!” (John 11:43).
We can waken someone from sleep with our call, but God’s call can summon into being things that are not (Romans 4:17). God’s call is irresistible in the sense that it can overcome all resistance. It is infallibly effective according to God’s purpose — so much so that Paul can say, “Those whom [God] called he also justified” (Romans 8:30).
In other words, God’s call is so effectual that it infallibly creates the faith through which a person is justified. All the called are justified. But none is justified without faith (Romans 5:1). So the call of God cannot fail in its intended effect. It irresistibly secures the faith that justifies.
This is what man cannot do. It is impossible.
- Only God can take out the heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).
- Only God can draw people to the Son (John 6:44, 65).
- Only God can open the heart so that it gives heed to the gospel (Acts 16:14).
- Only the Good Shepherd knows his sheep by name.
He calls them and they follow (John 10:3–4, 14). The sovereign grace of God, doing the humanly impossible, is the great missionary hope.
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Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.
2 He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.
We all have pits we fall into—that’s just life—but God’s Word shows us that as Christians we are to face our pits through eyes of faith.
Maybe you are stuck in a pit right now.
*It could be a difficult relationship, a financial hole, an illness—something you’ve been caught in for a while—and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to climb out.
*Your situation may look fatal & terminal but God’s saying you won’t die; you’ll live to declare the goodness of the Lord.
James 1:2 My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, 3 for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.
One type of pit is the kind we create for ourselves.
*We may fall back into an old sin habit or unhealthy life pattern that keeps us going in circles.
*We find ourselves drifting, wandering, moving farther away from the abundant life God has provided.
*But it does not matter what kind of pit we are in. Our merciful Lord makes a way for us out of every one of them.
Psalms 34:19 Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all;
“Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?” (Matthew 12:11).
Jesus says, “It doesn’t matter if you created your pit. Even the law won’t stop Me from coming to lift you out of it.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.
Today, make the decision to shake off any negative, self-defeating mindsets.
*Choose to cooperate with God.
*Trust that He is preparing you for promotion.
*As you keep an attitude of faith, expectancy and thanks giving, He will lift you up out of the pit and set you on the solid path of victory He has in store for you!
Thank You Lord, for using every situation in my life for my good. I bless You today no matter what is going on around me, knowing that You have a good plan for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
” We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.” (Ro. 8:28)
Read MoreOur God is so great that every star is counted and named. And yet He cares about us personally. He cares about the little things and the broken hearted among us. What an awesome God to be able to worship.
“[God] determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” Psalm 147:4–5
Here the Scripture gives us a beautiful picture of the measureless wisdom, knowledge and power of the Lord.
*No human astronomer would dare to calculate the number of stars in the universe.
We know that it runs into millions and billions, but God knows the number of the stars and He calls each by name.
God’s understanding reaches out to the farthest corners of the universe and He knows exactly what’s going on with each star.
God controls its movements.
Astronomers can compute mathematically where each star was thousands of years ago or where it will be thousands of years from now because the stars are so absolutely accurate and reliable in their movements.
But don’t let us attribute that to some unseen, mechanical force.
The force, the wisdom, the power behind the movements of the stars is the force and the wisdom of our God. His understanding is infinite.
We marvel today at the achievements of computers, but let me tell you that God is greater than all the computers put together.
There’s nothing going on anywhere in the universe that He doesn’t know about, that He doesn’t control.
**He’s the Creator, He’s the Controller of the entire universe, and He’s our God.
As we learn to love God, He makes us an open, cleansed vessel so He can love others through us.
God has knowledge of all things at all times.
Isaiah 40:28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
God sees us as we really are. He knows our thoughts, motives, and desires. God Knows.
God is in control so what’s happening to me is happening for my good.
*Our God is a God of Love.
*He knows what’s best for us.
*It doesn’t matter what you are going through, “God Knows”.
If you give God a chance he can deliver you. God Knows.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.” Psalm 51:10,13 AMEN
HAPPY EASTER—– Believing the Truth – John 20:1-18
“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! (Luke 245-6).
HE IS RISEN—-HE IS RISEN—–HE IS RISEN!
Nothing more is required for our salvation other than the price Christ already paid at the Cross.
*Our sin-debt is paid in full, and the empty tomb is our receipt.
Some of us don’t know what to do with the “Truth of the Resurrection”!
* For Easter, we sing certain hymns and we have traditions that we do in the service and in meals at home.
But the broader concept of the Resurrection, this is harder to grasp.
*1Corinthians 15:13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
**Without the Resurrection, Jesus is merely a dead and moral martyr who provided great teaching.
John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
**Recovering the Resurrection.
This begins with remembering what Jesus said.
*So often, we forget what the Bible teaches about the resurrection, about the power and meaning of it.
* Our wonder will grow cold without His Word!
*We also need to repent for forgetting His Word!
*We need to remember that his death and resurrection “Solved the Problem of Sin and Death”!!!!
*Jesus death and resurrection empowers everything that Jesus said.
This resurrection wonder will lead to transformed lives, where each Sunday service and each day we live revolves around the Hope of a Risen Savior.
Jesus Has Risen! Jesus has Risen Indeed! I pray the world will see the true meaning of Easter and read Isaiah 53 and ask “How could this be predicted 700 years before this all took place?” And know that the Word of God is 100 percent True and Trustworthy and we all have The Faith and Hope of spending Eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Thank You JESUS! You have RISEN Indeed! Amen
“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 ).
Change requires new thinking. In order to change, we must learn the truth and start making good choices, but we also must change the way we think.
The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.
If you want to change the way you act, you start by changing the way you think. In addition, if you want to change the way you feel, you must start with the way you think.
For instance, you can say, “I need to love my husband more,” but that isn’t going to work. You can’t fight your way into a feeling. You must change the way you think about your husband, about your kids, about your wife. That will change the way you feel, which will then change the way you act. The Bible says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23).
The battle for sin, the battle to deal with those defects in your life that you don’t like, starts in your mind. If you want to change anything in your behavior or anything in your emotions, you start with your thoughts and your attitude.
The renewal of your mind is related to the word “repentance.” I know repentance is a dirty word for a lot of people. They think it means something bad, something they don’t really want to do, something painful. They think of a guy standing on a street corner with a sign that says, “Repent! The world’s about to end!”
Repentance is about more than changing your behavior. It is about changing your mind and learning to think differently. “Repent” simply means to make a mental U-turn.
- You turn from guilt to forgiveness.
- You turn from frustration to freedom, from darkness to light, from hatred and bitterness to love.
You may also need to change the way you think about God. He’s not mad at you; he’s mad about you! You’re deeply flawed, but you’re deeply loved.
Start with your mind, and change the way you think about your relationships, the economy, the world, and your past, present, and future.
Changing the way you think will then affect your emotions and your behavior.
Read Romans 12:1-3. Amen
Read MoreEmpowered through the blood of Jesus Christ!
6 ways the blood of Jesus releases power into your life.
1) The blood of Jesus has the power to free us from every stronghold of the enemy.
2) The blood of Jesus had the power to protect us from the onslaught of Satan.
3) The blood of Jesus has the power to give us absolute VICTORY.
4) The blood of Jesus has the power to give us a complete breakthrough.
5) The blood of Jesus has the power to release all of the benefits and promises in our lives for enjoyment.
6) The blood of Jesus has the power to make us WINNERS on the face of the earth.
” But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
God Completely Saved Us:
*God has completely saved US, and yet, has not violated His Holiness. Jesus did this by becoming a substitute for US and willingly accepting on himself the punishment for OUR sins. (See Ephesians 2:8-9).
*Freedom is found in Christ alone. (Titus 2:14)
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God”. (Romans 5:9)
*When God declares someone has been justified– He removes that person from the need to be judged for their sin.
THE GOOD NEWS *Our sin and sin nature have been removed from the wrath of God because God the Father now sees in that believer a reflection of His Son, Jesus the Christ.
* When God looks at the believer He sees Jesus!
2 Corinthians 10:4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
Why does the blood Have power to Empower?
1) The blood of Jesus is Perfect
2) The blood of Jesus is Pure
3) The blood of Jesus is Perpetual
4) The blood of Jesus is Powerful
5) The blood of Jesus is Permanent
6) The blood of Jesus is Precious
Revelation 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
* Basis of our power and authority over all the enemy: “the blood of the lamb”
The blood of Jesus purchased salvation that will endure for eternity! The acceptance of His blood brings the promise of eternal friendship and dwelling with God – both now- and in the world to come.
However, salvation through the blood of Jesus has an even greater purpose than just the assurance of the believer’s eternal destiny.
The work of the blood of Jesus, when coupled with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, removes the corrupt influences of sin and drives believers forth to “serve the living God.” Amen
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Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.
Does God hear the prayers of sinners? Yes and no.
- Yes, our merciful God always loves us and works with us, and Jesus Christ even died for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).
- We were all sinners (Romans 3:23), so if God did not hear our cries for forgiveness, there would be no human He would hear.
- After sinning, David prayed, “Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities” (Psalm 51:9). God heard that prayer.
But without repentance, as Isaiah wrote, “Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
Psalm 66:18 talks about sin “cherished” in the heart. “If I have known it was there and encouraged it,” then God wouldn’t listen (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on Psalm 66:18).
To be assured God will hear and answer us, we must repent and work to root sin out of our heart with God’s help.
Thank you Jesus for the Cross which gave us all Victory if we choose to walk with you. Amen
Read MorePsalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
To be lonely is a very sad condition; yet in today’s world there are millions and millions of lonely people.
Even though the population of the earth is increasing rapidly and even though so many people live in large cities, those large cities and this highly populated earth of ours are filled with lonely people.
• You see, it’s possible to be lonely in the midst of a crowd.
• It’s possible to be lonely in a big city.
• I know, because I’ve met so many people like that.
Now loneliness is not God’s plan for man’s life.
Right at the beginning of human history God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” So for the first man he planned a mate. That’s God’s attitude.
• He wants to take us out of our loneliness.
• He wants to set us in the family of God.
• He wants to give us human friends and human fellowship.
• That’s His plan. God sets the lonely in families.
But there’s one kind of person that God cannot help out of loneliness: the rebellious live in a dry sun-scorched land.
So if you’re lonely just bear in mind that God cannot help you until:
• you lay down your rebelliousness,
• till you renounce your pride and your self-will and independence
• and turn to God for His mercy
• and then He’ll have mercy on you and He will set you in His family.
Step one of the 8 Truths to Master life:
1. I confess my spiritual and moral bankruptcy and agree with Jesus’ words: “without me you can do nothing.”
Result: I am fully accepted and welcomed into God’s Family.
I am “Accepted.”
*When this happens, I am fully accepted into God’s family. Upon receiving Jesus and His work on the cross, of bearing my sin and His victory over death through His resurrection—I have the gift of eternal life.
Isaiah 55:1. “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!”
Luke 5: 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.
Romans 3:18-26, 2 Corinthians 5:17
Lord, thank you for the Body of Christ the Church which has helped be get rid of my loneliness. We all need relationships and I pray that if we are not in a small group we will reach out and get into one for Your Glory and our joy. Amen
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