Devotions - Prayer
God’s Love has two distinct sides to it. One is a long-suffering, merciful love, and the other a firm and disciplinary love.
* “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines…” Hebrews 12:6
*Are you being God led or do you keep going and going?
*Who is driving your bus?
*Are we giving God our all?
*Are we really being faithful to God?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Most Christians don’t listen to God. They go to Him only to talk!
* Yet the Scriptures reveal that any person who was ever used of God learned to remain in His presence until hearing from Him through His Word.
Scripture makes it clear that the Lord wants to talk to every one of us:
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21).
*Reading this passage meant so much to me! God is telling us to get rid of our frustrations and get with Him. We ought to rely on Him because He knows the end result and what will happens for us in our lives.
I read of a little girl suffering from leukemia who was struggling with the
thought of dying. One morning when her mother came into her room, the girl was all aglow and happy. “What has happened to you?” her mother asked.
The little girl answered, “An angel came to me and said I was going on a trip.
God came and took my hand and walked with me through a beautiful garden. He told me, ‘You’re coming here tomorrow to be with Me.'”
*God spoke to that little child and took all the pain and fear from her heart.
*When she left to be with Him the next day, she had total peace.
When you are intimate with Jesus, do you receive direction from Him? Does He tell you what to do and when and how to do it?
Some Christians don’t believe God does this but Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me”
(John 10:27).
In your trial, get alone with Jesus and cry, “Lord, You’re the only One who can
help me. Only You know the way through this trial, so I’m going to stay here till You tell me what to do.”
This is the kind of praying that is pleasing to God. It means stopping
everything, all activity. Only then will you hear Him speak clearly to your
heart: “You must make things right with this person” Or, “Just stand still
till next week. Don’t get in a hurry. Sit in My presence and trust Me.” He will
give you clear directions.
Hebrew 5: 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Whenever God brings you through a time of great adversity, you can expect to come out of that experience with great possessions, if you have been faithful through the trial.
* This is a universal truth. Wisdom comes from obedience, not knowledge.
When we have been tested and proven, the reality of our faith results in possessions from God that we would never receive if we had not gone through those trials.
*God kept the people ofIsrael enslaved 400 years, but when the time came to free them from the bondage of slavery, they came out with great possessions.
*These physical possessions symbolize the spiritual possessions we receive when we come out of being enslaved to those things that have hindered us all our lives.
* These possessions are to be shared with others so that they also can know how they might become free. (2 Corinthians 1:4-5)
What has God freed you from that allows you to share your possessions with others?
Share what God has done in your life with someone you know. It may be the possession they need most in their life. (Your Testimony Revelation 12:11)
God has big plans and he knows what’s coming. Why is it hard to follow Jesus when we don’t know what’s coming next? Cause those later steps could be really scary an if you saw it now you wouldn’t be ready.
Like in Hebrews 12: 1-3 “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” God will give us direction as we take the next step.
If we are going his way we won’t mess it up. He isn’t waiting for you to mess up, he is rooting for you.
* So what’s God’s will for your life?
I don’t know but we do know that he will show you compassion and he is ready to help you, root for you, and whether you go left or right he will say this is the way walk it!
*What does God want for you? Take the next step! And after that take the next step!
Proverbs 5:22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
*We are one decision away from death. We must exercise self control and keep the Faith and Move Forward and take the next step, then the next etc.
*How amazing it is to have the Holy Spirit guiding our every step….. whether to the left or to the right!
If we are mindful to listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit…….. our steps will be ordered!
My dearest Lord, thank you for letting me know you are here… don’t hide from me , don’t hide your will and your revelation, please… Father.
Show me your face, show me your way.. I can’t live without your words…
Show me the path that you want me to take..cut any rope holding me up. Praise you Lord, I should be patient to wait. I pray in Jesus name, Amen!
DO WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE WORD OF GOD?
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God”. John 1:1
God’s Love for us is unstoppable, unshakable and eternal.
* “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Christ is the living Word of God and when you are shut in with Him in prayer, the Holy Spirit will always lead you to God’s revealed Word. He will build up your faith by feeding you from the Bible, even while you are in the secret closet!
We are commanded: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day. . . . And take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13, 17).
Often when you receive specific instructions from the Lord, His Spirit will
whisper, “Now turn to . . .” and you will be directed to a passage of Scripture.
God’s Word will speak to you directly, telling you how to get through your crisis.
Many Christians reading this message simply must hear a word from the Lord.
Nobody on earth can help them. The only way for them to get through their trial is by staying in Christ’s presence until He gives them direction from His Holy Spirit inspired Word.
God must tell them the way through—what to do and when and how to act.
God’s exclusive direction to them, through the Word, will not come one minute too early or too late. It will all be in the Holy Spirit’s timing!
*Jesus is “meek and lowly in heart,” and wins us by love. Jesus pulls more than His “share” of the load; therefore, our burden is light.
The most loving father in the world cannot compare with the love our Heavenly Father has for us. And yet, many times we find it easier to believe in the willingness of a father or mother or mate to help us than in the willingness of God to use His power on our behalf.
Relatively few people really doubt God’s ability, but rather, it is our doubt of His willingness to use His ability on our behalf that causes most people to do without.
*Jesus assures us that God’s love, and His willingness to demonstrate that love, is far greater than we can ever experience in any human relationship. *Not only does He want our love, but wants you to let Him love you today.
Today, there is no need for you to worry about your trial. God is faithful to
respond to your every need and request. Simply pray, “Lord, I come now not just to have my needs met but I come also to meet Your need!”
We were made for fellowship with Him even in our heaviest times. I ask you: Do you love to be with Him? Let your heart cry out, “Jesus, You are my everything!
You are my soul’s great pleasure and I love Your company!”
*It is important, though, for our own personal benefit that we be aware that the children of the Wicked One are placed among the true believers.
*Our best defense is to preach and teach the Word of God without watering it down. False brethren will not endure sound doctrine. They leave when the Word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, begins to expose the thoughts and intents of the heart. Stick to the Word!
Father, help us to listen closely to Your Spirit and put all our confidence in
Your revealed Word. Amen
“ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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Those who trust in the Lord will walk in the light of His Love.
* “They looked unto Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”. Psalm 34:5
*Where there is compassion, a miracle will come!
We need to be willing to walk God’s Way of Agape, even if our circumstances never change.
* “Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines…Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”
Habakkuk 3:17-18
God has made available to us the riches of this Bible — His Word — which reveals to us the riches of His kingdom and of our eternal life in Christ.
God longs for us to know Him, and has revealed Himself in His Son. He has redeemed us through the blood His resurrected Son shed on the Cross, and has called us into a Spiritual relationship with Him.
Into our soul and our life He pours all the riches of heaven — “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,” as Luke 6:38 tells us. But we must get to know Him as He reaches out to us through the pages of Scripture, led by His Holy Spirit. We cannot imagine a greater adventure!
Do you feel frustrated because you are just getting by and are not really experiencing the abundant life that Jesus came to give? (Jn. 10:10).
Examine your lifestyle and see if the cares of this life, deceitfulness of riches, or pleasures of this life could be choking God’s Word.
The High Call of Suffering
2 Corinthians 1:2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
*We cannot understand our suffering or His silence to our passionate pleas.
*We endure loss, loneliness, rejection, financial hardship, grief–all sorts of painful things and wonder why we have to be the one enduring this trial.
*We entreat the Lord for healing and it doesn’t come.
*We request prayers from family and friends and there is still no respite from the Pain we are experiencing.
“Why, Lord, why must I go through this wretched time? Why, Lord? Why? I don’t understand.”
Then, quite unexpectedly, some hurting person–possibly someone you’ve never met before–enveloped in despair and fear and confusion comes into your life and you find yourself saying, “Oh, come sit down and let me talk to you.
* I understand! I’ve been through that very same thing. Let me tell you what happened and HOW the Lord brought comfort and strength and understanding to me”.
II Corinthians 1: 3-4 (above) has just become a part of our life and we suddenly grasp that through this suffering, Jesus has prepared us to minister to someone else. He is allowing us to share His unfathomable love with others. And they will listen. Why? Because we’ve been there. We understand. We have Wisdom.
*How special you are to God as He patiently, lovingly teaches you, knowing that someone who is hurting just as you have been hurting will be crossing your path before too long.
Somehow the Lord will bring that person into your life and you will be able to answer the questions they ask from the darkness of their desperation and suffering.
That sense of Pain and sorrow that you have experienced is about to give way to fresh excitement and new adventure. You will experience yet another shift where doors will open in the Spirit to provide new opportunities for development in both the natural and spiritual realms.
Don’t be afraid to let go of what has been in order to Move Forward to what is ahead.
Feeling Pain and sorrow is more often than not a precursor to change.
Be prepared to hear from the Lord through His Word and start anew Moving Forward, for the Lord’s Glory.
Exodus 40:36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.
Glory is found in the Bible 402 times! Glory means to bring light to. All glory comes from God but it also belongs back to God.
Main Point: Gods glory, His presence and power, will guide us throughout life!
* Remember that Gods glory now resides in us. 1 Corinthians 6:19
* Realize that God’s glory is our Power. 2 Peter 1:3-4
* Recognize that God’s glory gives us constant Direction. Proverbs 16:9
Proverbs 3:5-6
*I will run to my God FIRST when I am in need of comfort and I will use that to comfort those around me.
Galations 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”
*All our flowery words about Jesus are not enough. Our actions must match our words in order for it to become truth.
*Do we long for God’s glory to fill our tabernacles? For Him to dwell with us? For Him to speak to us directly, to guide us in such a tangible way?
Believers in Jesus Christ , washed by the blood and being the temple of the Holy Ghost have to wait on God for divine guidance in every aspect of our lives. Simply because God knows what is best for us!
Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. (Colossians 3:10, 12 MSG)
**Aren’t you thankful it’s been completed—The plan of salvation? So we can be right at home with our God! I am!
*It’s been done!
*It IS finished!
Take time to evaluate where you’ve been and to remember the things that you learned through your experiences.
Do not give in to the temptations that come for you to be a victim of the difficulties you have endured, but rather use those lessons as a platform and a launching pad into greater wisdom and spiritual effectiveness.
Those things have made you stronger and have the potential to increase your faith if you maintain a proper perspective.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
As you read this do you wonder, “Is God at work in my circumstance? Is Jesus really triumphant — in me? Can He really save me from this situation? I just don’t see a way forward.”
I tell you, God is on the move in your life at this very moment. The stone is being rolled away. Light is breaking forth and your Hope stands there in the doorway: Jesus! He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness and His victory is yours by faith.
Lord, help me to see that my times of Pain-Sorrow and Trouble are used for good- they will glorify You if I choose to let them. Help me to Move Forward and put my Faith and Hope in You. Help me to praise You IN every situation not necessarily FOR every situation. God will give us the glory in the New Jerusalem where we will be filled with GLORY forever! Amen and amen! Glory to HIS name!
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If you think you’re not qualified to be used by God, start changing the way you think!
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” – Psalm 24:1-2
I belong to the Lord. The earth is His. There is nothing anybody/anything can do without having His divine permission. He is Omnipotent. All power comes from Him. He IS Lord!
HE is JESUS CHRIST! THE KING OF GLORY.
As Christian believers, God calls us to view Him as the owner of everything.
We are to be stewards of all that He entrusts to us.
*This is one of the hardest of all commandments to follow for the Christian believer because, if we work hard, we receive all the benefits of that work.
It appears as though all that we have achieved was through our hand. Yet God says that it is by His hand that we are able to make wealth (see Deut. 8).
*God is the source of that ability.
*As soon as WE become owners and not managers, we fall into trouble with God.
Joseph understood that he was a steward of all the resources of Egypt. God promoted him to affect an entire region of the world. Joseph had more power, prestige, and wealth than any 30-year-old who ever lived before him.
The temptation for him in this newfound role in life must have been great. Many a man has not been able to handle material success.
Many of God’s choicest servants began well in their calling and service to God only to fail at the end.
*Consider Hezekiah, the great king who achieved many great things but failed to acknowledge God’s blessing at the end of his reign. His reign was cut short due to pride.
*Gideon’s fate was similar. Success can lead to pride if we are not careful.
“Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to prideand a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity” [Oswald Chambers].
Ask the Lord today if you are living as a steward or an owner. Put whatever skills and resources you possess on His altar. Then you can expect God to do great things through you.
Here is my question to you: What do you do when everything you try brings no result?
*Where do you turn when every effort you put forth does not accomplish
its purpose?
There comes a time when we have no resource but Jesus alone.
In this story, Elisha is a type of Christ. He went to that Shunammite family and stretched himself out over the body of the dead boy. When he was face to face, foot to foot, hand to hand over the child, he breathed into him.
What happened then? Scripture says the boy sneezed seven times (v. 35). He was alive!
What brought about this life? Jesus Himself breathed into the situation.
When we have no hope, no resources, no ability, Christ breathes His supernatural life into our circumstances.
Refuse to listen to the useless chatter of the enemy when he tries to convince you that you are flawed or worthless. The Lord has not and will not condemn you. You are His special treasure, chosen for His own purposes. Satan is against you because he is against the Lord, and these lies are weapons formed against you. Do not believe them.
Psalms 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
You are God’s Masterpiece. Eph. 2:10
Make this your prayer: “Lord, I have nothing– but You have everything and I need You now. If you do not breathe into my problem, I won’t make it. I can’t do it, but YOU can, Lord!”
God, please forgive me for not always acknowledging how great You are. Help me to see everything around me as yours. Help me to praise more and question less. ALL is YOURS! God, thank you for sending Jesus your Son to stand in our place. Send now your Holy Spirit to walk alongside us, to empower us that we may live clean-handed and pure-hearted. Help us to live in right relationship with those on your claimed Earth. Amen. Amen.
Psalms 68:19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms.
God’s Love always remembers and seeks out the brokenhearted.
* “…to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning…”
Isaiah 61:2-3
Psalm 106:13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel! 14 In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland. 15 So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.
That’s a description of Israel in their relationship with God during the forty years in the wilderness.
God had performed mighty miracles on their behalf.
*He’d redeemed them out ofEgypt.
*He’d made provision for them in all their desert wandering.
**But Israel had a short memory.
* They soon forgot what He’d done for them.
*They didn’t wait for His counsel.
*They didn’t wait to see what God wanted to do next, but they were guilty of greed and lust.
*They asked for meat and it says God sent them their request.
The record shows that He sent them an abundance of quails that fell all around their camp and they were actually knee-deep in quails.
*But note that final commentary which is so tragic: God “gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.”
*Their bodies were filled, their souls were empty.
*Let us beware that we do not make the same mistake that we forget God’s goodness, that we do not wait for His counsel and that we ask to satisfy our lusts, and we even receive – but our souls become hungry and bare.
* Let’s wait for God’s counsel. Let’s not force our will upon God.
Sometimes we can do that and God will yield, but it’s to our own great hurt.
Romans 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires.
Narrow your focus, refuse to allow your attention to be scattered in all directions. And, do not allow your focus to be on your trouble or current dilemma.
This is a time to look squarely into the Lord’s face, deliver your prayer with earnest faith, and trust Him to answer. Release yourself from all anxiety and worry.
* John 6:20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Help me Lord to learn from Your word the sins of Your people so that I will not sin against You. Continue to remind me what You have done to deliver me in the valley when I get back on the mountain so that I don’t suffer spiritual decline. Lord, I Know now through experiences and Your Word–that Sometimes the wisest move I can make is to wait a little bit longer in each situation to understand Your Wise counsel. Thank You for Your patience with me! Help me Lord to keep by Total Focus on You and You alone. Amen
Read MoreGod’s Way of Agape is the only way that leads to life, but are you wiling to walk it?
* “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” Matthew 7:14
” He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert.” Psalm 105:41
That’s a picture of God’s provision for His people, Israel. In the forty years of their wandering through the wilderness, a dry and barren land where there were no pools, no rivers, no streams, where water was almost non-existent.
* God provided water for them in abundance.
* God provided it in a most unlikely way. He provided it out of a rock.
*God Himself was the rock and out of Himself there came His provision for His people in abundance.
It was important that Israel knew how to approach the rock.
*At one time Moses was commanded to strike it. At another time he was commanded to speak to it, and when he approached the rock in faith and obedience, out of that seemingly hard and unyielding rock there came an abundance of water that flowed like a river in the desert.
It’s often so in our lives, where in a time of barrenness when provision seems lacking, but God is there. He’s there in the form of a rock. He’s there in a form of something that seems hard and unyielding, something that we could complain about.
But when we recognize God in it and approach Him in faith and obedience, then the rock becomes the source of our provision.
All the benefits bestowed on Israel as a nation, were shadows of spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in Christ Jesus.
Having redeemed us with His blood, restored our souls to holiness, and set us at liberty from Satan’s bondage. Jesus guides and guards us all the way. He satisfies our souls with the bread of heaven, and the water of life from the Rock of salvation, and will bring us safely to heaven.
* Jesus redeems his servants from all iniquity, and purifies them unto himself, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24
We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the workplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience JESUS through you today and see your vocation as worship to His glory.
Matthew 25:23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'”
*Success is not what you have but what you do with what you have.
*Do it with God’s way, not the way of the world.
*There is a Giver to every Christian out there. The gifts are spiritual gifts because the Giver is the Holy Spirit.
It’s not a reward or a purchased item. The gift is for the receiver to use in a ministry to others.
Thank You Jesus for Giving each one of us gifts to be used for Your Glory and our Joy. Help each of us approach our rock in faith and obedience, and then out of that seemingly hard and unyielding rock there will come an abundance of water which flows like a river in the desert. Thank You for being My rock of salvation. Amen
If we are not loving with God’s Love, we are spiritually dead.
“If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.”. 1 John 3:14
All Christians have God’s Love within them, but not all Christians are willing to set themselves aside and become a free-flowing stream of Divine Love.
* “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” Revelation 21:6
The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I am convinced that repentance is not
just for sinners, but also for believers.
It is not simply a one-time thing, but something God’s people are called to do until Jesus returns.
Every Christian who maintains a repentant attitude brings upon his life God’s special attention.
Indeed, repentance opens up something to us that nothing else can.
* If we walk before the Lord with a repentant heart, we will be inundated with incredible blessings!
A repentant heart is soft, tender and pliable, is and easily molded by the Holy
Spirit. It responds to and acts upon godly reproof.
The number-one characteristic of a repentant heart is a readiness to
acknowledge GUILT.
* It is a willingness to accept blame for wrongdoing, to say,
“I am the one, Lord. I have sinned!”
If there is no admitting to sin, there can be no repentance:
“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. ” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
“God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, and shouts in our pains.” -C.S. Lewis
If you are not willing to acknowledge you are never wrong, you are saying you don’t need to repent.
Before Pilate released Jesus into the hands of murderous priests and elders, he wanted the world to know it wasn’t his fault. He called for a basin of water,
dipped his hands into it and declared himself innocent of Christ’s blood before
the angry mob:
“When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was
made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it” (Matthew 27:24).
The phrase, “See ye to it” here means, “Make sure you all know my hands are
clean. I have done nothing wrong and I am clean from all guilt.”
Pilate’s hands were not clean, of course; he was about to hand over the Son of
God to murderers. This kind of thinking shuts a person off from any possibility
of repentance.
* Had a prophet approached Pilate the next day, preaching, “Repent
or perish!” the ruler would have been aghast. “Who, me?” he would have asked.
“I’ve done nothing wrong. How can I repent when I haven’t sinned?”
John writes: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. . . . If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10).
Repentance: 3 movements
1) Change of Mind:
* Pause and reflect on your life Ps 145:8-9. Be slow to anger. Have compassion in all like what our God is like. God is a God of love.
2) Change of Heart:
* Do not just deny any wrongdoing. Repentance requires humility and contribution. Accept responsibility. Integrity.
3) Change of Life:
* Changed minds and hearts lead to change in our life.
Repentance is costly.
‘Costly Grace’ it calls us to discipleship to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly to God because it cost Him the life of His Son.
Biblical discipleship must affect the way we live our lives– So that we do not repeat our sin or wrongdoing.
Repentance:
1. Dictionary meaning: to regret, resolve not to continue wrongdoing.
2. OT: Turning away from sin to righteousness, from idolatry to true true worship from sin to moral behaviour.
3. NT: Change of mind and change of behaviour.
U-turn is a good vision of what Repentance looks like:
Biblically the word repent has to do with making a deliberate decision from sin, idolatry or moral wrongdoing.
*When we do wrong and God shows us our sin it leads us to repentance through Jesus.
* I will be thankful for the Godly sorrow that I encounter because it does lead to salvation.
Father, thank you for correcting my character even when it hurts. Lord help me see and be truly sorrow for my mistakes and not blame other people or circumstance…… And I ask You Jesus for forgiveness… This way, by faith, I know I will change my life….It may hurt but it leads to healing!
Psalms 139:23 Search me, OGod, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Amen
Have you been through fire in your life?
*If God allows you to go through anything in your life, there is a reason.
*God has a purpose and a plan.
Fire, as defined in Malachi 3:2. When God allows you to go through something, he’s working in your life.
If we genuinely want to be all that God wants us to be, we have to allow Him to take the impurities out of our lives. We have to be grateful for the fire.
Knowing the result and purpose of the refining process empowers us to “count it all joy” and to keep pressing on with hope and in expectancy!
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.” – Malachi 3:2.
Soap cleanses the outside, FIRE cleanses the inside. And the Spirit of God does both!
*When you sin, repent!
* In-depth repentance brings in-depth cleansing. Don’t feel bad about feeling bad, feel good about it. Be glad your conscience is still sensitive and responsive to God.
*What you never want to hear God say is what He said about Ephraim: ‘Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone’ .
The fact that God is convicting you of sin is proof of His love for you.
*God can forgive your sin but He cannot overlook it.
*Unconfessed sin disrupts your fellowship with Him.
*Forgiveness is about more than just escaping the penalty of sin, it’s about restoring your fellowship with God.
You say, ‘Won’t God get tired of me sinning and repenting?’
*If Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother ‘seventy times seven’ would He do less for you?
The Bible says: ‘”Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’.
When you sin and try to hide from God you only prolong your misery.
*So the moment you become aware of your sin, confess it, then leave His presence confident that He has forgiven you.
You’re not a loser, you’re a learner.
Alexander Pope said: ‘A man should never be ashamed to own he has been wrong, which is but saying in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.’
As difficult and painful as it may be to go through at the time, it remains truth that whenever Father sets to work on refining us, it is always for our own good.
In His unfailing love and mercy He carefully and attentively refines us that we may remain in right relationship with Him and be able to draw ever nearer to Him (continually presenting ourselves to our Father as living sacrifices).
Oh how He loves us! Oh He loves us!
The Lord has a specific manner of preparing His people for useful service.
*God desires to turn His children from rough, hard-edged stones into gems of gold and silver.
“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years” (Malachi 3:3-4).
The refiner’s fire can only accomplish its purposes when the heat is turned up to extraordinary temperatures.
*It breaks down the metal in order for it to become moldable and shapeable. Only when the temperatures reach this level can the work be fully accomplished.
So it is in our lives.
Until the Lord completes His refining process, the offerings we make are not made in righteousness and cannot be acceptable.
Thank God that Jesus is our righteousness and that there is no righteousness apart from Him.
*Still, the Lord continues to purge all that is not of His righteousness out of our lives.
This comes through trials that bring each of us to the end of ourselves in order that He may only reflect that which is Himself.
When God takes you through the refiner’s fire, be encouraged because it is His overriding commitment to turn you from a rough, hard-edged stone to a precious metal.
*God will do this through certain events in your relationships, and other circumstances in your life.
*Our job is to avoid trying to blow out the fire.
With God, it’s a simple choice. You can let Him clean HEARTS now, or clean HOUSE later.
Let us each be encouraged: though weeping may endure for a night, JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING, FOR HE MAKES ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME…
*This is a time when you have to continue to press through stubborn difficulties.
* This is an opportunity to persevere and still stay strong in your faith. It may
seem like breakthrough will never come, but I’m telling you that it will. Don’t give up. Continue to trust the Lord for the answer to your prayers. The Lord sees what you’re going through, and He hears you. Be strong and courageous.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor
His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.
You have entered a season of blessing in which the doors will open for opportunities to advance spiritually and naturally. You will be surprised and delighted as you progress through this extraordinary time in fires.
It is a time of revelation and resolution as things that have seemed to be beyond your ability to grasp will now be within your reach and will create a sense of freedom that you have longed for.
Draw near to the Lord, for He will give light, discernment, and truth where things have seemed to be murky.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Let us each be encouraged: though weeping may endure for a night, JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING, FOR HE MAKES ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME… Thank You Jesus for Loving US SO SO much! Lord as I have come through the fires, I look back and praise You for them. I Praise You for all that You have brought me through, for every impurity You took out of my life and for every blessing I have. Lord, Thank you for being in control! Amen
Read MoreTo experience the “fullness of God” is to have his supernatural Love. Wisdom and Power flowing into and out of our lives.
* “But I have received everything in full, and have an abundance…” Philippians 4:18
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… (Ephesians 4:11-12).
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
Your gift may fall in one of the two major divisions within the body.
*There are certain gifts that might be called General Support Ministries, from which the whole body receives benefit.
* Then there is another division of gifts, which might be called Working Gifts.
The support ministries exist for the equipment of the saints for the work of the ministry (that is contact with the world) and for the building up of the body of Christ (that is maintaining the health of the church).
*Who is to do these two things?
*The saints, the people!
That is God’s intention. It is not the job of the pastors. (Acts 6)
Their work is something different. Pastor’s are to train and equip, and motivate the people to do this work.
It is the people who are to do the work of the church.
Anything less than this is a distortion of what God intended the church to be like.
* Many churches have become identified with buildings, great massive cathedrals and imposing structures, and these were referred to as the church.
*The popular thinking fastened upon the building as the identifying symbol of the church, instead of the PEOPLE.
Along with that idea there came a gradual transfer of responsibility from the people to the clergy to do the work of the ministry.
Soon Christianity became a spectator sport, very much akin to the definition I recently heard of football—eleven men down on the field, desperately in need of rest, and forty thousand people up in the grandstand desperately in need of exercise!
How do you find the gift that you have?
*The answer is you find spiritual gifts just as you find natural talents.
*You musicians, how do you know that you have the gift of music?
*What you enjoy doing is usually what God gives you the privilege of doing, for the exercise of spiritual gifts is a joyful thing to do. People take great pleasure in exercising these gifts.
One important indication is to see if others recognize the gift in you and encourage you to use it. It is important that others recognize your gift.
Open Your Gift!
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. (Ephesians 4:7).
* The apostle suggests clearly that the power of the church lies in all Christians discovering and intelligently exercising the spiritual gift that was given to them when they became a member of the body of Christ.
In so many places the Church has forgotten it is a body and has tried to operate as another human organization; therefore, it has no more power than any other human organization at work in the world.
But Paul reminds us that the secret of the operation of the church is that each Christian has a gift.
It is our responsibility to recognize and fulfill that gift we each have.
If you are a Christian, if you have new life by the Spirit of God by faith in Jesus Christ, you have a spiritual gift.
*The church begins to live and exercise its impact and influence upon society when you begin to exercise your gift.
Do you know what your gift is? Have you ever asked yourself this question:
“What is the gift God has given to me since I am a Christian? What does He want me to do as a general area of ministry?” Do you know how to recognize a gift? Do you know how to develop it once you know what it is?
*The impact on the church in this area is directly related to how you answer those questions.
*Your own joy and fulfillment as a Christian depends on how you answer those questions.
All our flowery words about Jesus are not enough. Our Actions must match our words in order for it to become truth.
* “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:28
As believers we tend to measure our success on whether we have achieved a certain position or stature in life.
Even as Christians the temptation to believe that someone is blessed if they have achieved prominence is always confronting us.
In His discussion with Peter, Jesus was getting at the very heart of the matter of a person’s calling.
Peter was worried about whether his friend John was going to get the same lot in life as he was.
Jesus told him it should not be his concern.
* He was to concern himself only with one thing: his own calling before God.
Are you tempted to compare yourself with where others are in their life? Are you dissatisfied with where God has you right now?
Be of good cheer-“[be] confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6)
Salvation is not a reformation, but rather a regeneration, a new birth, a new creation, that can only be accomplished by a creative miracle of the Holy Spirit. Because of the new birth, He sees us through Jesus. Celebrate Life!
Remember we cannot do everything. God never intended it to be this way. We must stick close to His purpose in our life while encouraging others to discover their purpose and to use it in the Kingdom.
Lord, I am grateful to be a part of Your body and to partner with You in Your Kingdom work. Help me Lord, to encourage others to step out in faith and to walk in the purpose You have given them. Father, what a magnificent plan and program for this world to be helped, changed, and delivered in its utter need. God, grant that I catch something of the excitement and the challenge of using my gift/gifts. Lord thank You for the spiritual gifts you have given me. Let me not only discover them but use them to edify Your body and glorify Your Son in the power of the Spirit for Your Glory. Amen
Read More*Some things must die in order to be productive.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” – John 12:24
Death and Birth of a Vision–Almost every significant thing God births He allows to die before the vision is fulfilled in His own way.
*Abraham had a vision of being the father of a great nation (birth). Sarah was barren and became too old to have children (death). God gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age. He became the father of a great nation (fulfillment).
*Joseph had a vision that he would be a great leader and that many would bow down to him (birth).
Joseph’s brothers sold him to some merchants and he became a slave. Later he was falsely condemned to spend his years in prison (death). God allowed Joseph to interpret the dreams of the butler and baker and later the king, whereupon, he was made a ruler in the land (fulfillment).
*Moses had a vision of leading his people out of the bondage of Egypt (birth). Pharaoh as well as his own people drove Moses out of Egypt after Moses’ first attempt to relieve their bondage (death). God gave Moses signs and wonders to convince Pharaoh to free the people and bring them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land (fulfillment).
*The disciples had a vision of establishing the Kingdom of God with Jesus (birth). The very ones He came to save killed Jesus, and the disciples saw Him buried in a tomb (death). God raised Jesus from the dead, and the disciples performed great miracles until the gospel had spread through all the world (fulfillment).
*A grain of wheat has a “vision” of reproducing itself and many more grains of wheat (birth). The grain dies in the ground (death). A harvest springs up out of the very process of “death” in the ground (fulfillment).
Romans 13: 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Has God given you a vision that is yet unfulfilled?
*If that vision is born of God, He will raise it up in His own way.
*Do not try to raise the vision in your own strength.
Like Moses, who tried to fulfill the vision of freeing the Hebrews by killing the Egyptian, it will only fail. But wait on your heavenly Father to fulfill the vision.
*Then you will know that it was His vision when He fulfills it in the way only He can do.
Be on guard and remain fully and solidly positioned in the Lord’s presence.
For, the enemy has released an attack to get you off track and to scatter you to the wind. His strategy is to cause you to get emotionally invested in things you have no control over. Yours is not to try to control but to trust God in those things.
Refuse to allow the devil and his plans to get you off balance. Stand strong
and resolute in the Lord’s purposes. God is with you and for you.
Nahum 2:1 He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
Holy Father, let us come often into your presence, so that your light and goodness will protect us from temptation to sinful activity. When we focus on your goodness and love and try to walk the paths you have for us, such things will seem unappealing and out of place, But help us to Stand Strong with and for You, Jesus for Your Glory. Give us thankful joyful hearts that want to serve others and share Your LOVE. Amen.
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If we choose to walk God’s Way of Agape, everyone around us is going to notice the way we live…and especially the way we love.
“I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints…” Philemon 4-5
Ephesians 5:1. Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
* In order to imitate God I must walk in love. Walking in love looks like the walk of Jesus.
Everywhere he walked he put the needs of others about his own. He never walked anywhere without the needs of others being obvious to Him, and responding to those needs immediately with Action.
Everywhere I walk I must give the fragrant smell of selflessness. When I put others about myself is an offering that pleases God.
Being a Christian isn’t about making a weekly trip to church. We need to develop the character of God so others can actually see Jesus working in a practical way.
Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Mark 1:41, “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him…. and he was cleansed.”
*Only Mark records this important statement that Jesus was “moved with compassion” in the healing of this leper.
There are three other instances in the gospels when Jesus was moved with compassion which resulted in healing (Mt. 14:14; 20:34; Lk. 7:13; and once in deliverance – Mk.5:19).
The difference between seeing a person healed or not healed many times is this all-important ingredient of love.
As can be seen from Mark’s account, two things happened:
(1) the leprosy departed.
(2) the man was cleansed.
Jesus not only removed the disease but restored the damaged parts of his body. This leper was healed as soon as Jesus spoke.
The Word of God is the will of God, and it reveals that it is always God’s will to heal.
Jesus often healed people by touching them, and others received their healing as they touched Jesus.
You can transmit the power or the anointing of God through the laying on of hands. Let Him use you today to touch others.
“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” – Psalm 143:8 *Despite David’s many setbacks he continually sought to know and do God’s will in his life.
*Like many of us, his will got in the way of a sinless life.
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10).
Do you need direction in your life today? If so, David provides the best example of gaining direction. Set aside the morning hour to draw close to His presence. There, you will sense His unfailing love for you.
*His direction for your life will be a natural by-product of this time of communion with Him. Ask God to lead you by His Spirit today.
Lord, I pray that those I pray for will see the fruits in me for Your Glory and my joy. Ever remind me that I am Your child and I need to behave in that manner. Lord let me give the fragrant offering of selflessness everywhere I go. Help me to be attentive to the needs of others and not just sensitive to my own needs. Help me be a better listener! Amen
Let’s us have this boldness to believe and ask Jesus to heal those that are sick!
Jesus chose to lay down His Life so God’s Love could be poured forth from Him to us.
* “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His Life for the sheep…No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.” John 10:11, 18
THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW TO ASK JESUS FOR SOMETHING:
Matthew 8:2, ” And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. 3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
*This leper had it right — it is up to God whether or not to give us what we ask in prayer. If Jesus was willing to heal the leper, it would happen.
*Faith, is trusting His will, knowing he cares so much.
*Faith begins where the will of God is known.
John 4:46-54
*Crisis faith– man in need because his son is dying. Crisis is sometimes what we need to come to a real trust in God.
*Confident faith- confident that Jesus had the ability and will heal his son. We need to know that God has the power, and that He is not afraid to use it for us.
*Confirmed faith– Jesus confirms his faith. “He is healed, go home.” Keep record. Remember what God has done for you, and if He said no, look back later and recognize that He knew what He was doing when you didn’t.
*Contagious faith– whole family converts. When you can testify to God and His grace and mercy, faith spreads like wildfire.
When all four of these things come together, you have something that destroys barriers and walls that people set up to keep God out.
Leprosy was a hated disease and its symptoms are described in detail in Leviticus 13:1-46.
This leper believed Jesus could heal him, But Doubted His willingness to heal him. (Sound familiar?)
Jesus showed him His willingness to heal, and since He is no respecter of persons, He established a precedent for us (Rom. 2:11 For there is no partiality with God).
This leper did not know God’s will concerning healing, But this is not the case with us.
*The Word of God is the will of God, and it reveals that it is always God’s will to heal.
Isaiah 53:5, makes it clear that when Isaiah said “with his stripes we are healed”, he was speaking of the physical healing of our bodies.
*Jesus provided for physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins.
*Jesus has already healed us of the greatest disease of all, that of SIN, giving us the medication of redemption and forgiveness. How much more easily then will He heal us of our physical pain and illness.
Jesus paid the price for our healing Amen.
Jesus Physical healings:
*Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour.
*Mark 5:34 And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.
* Luke 8:48 And He said to her, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
*Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins.
*Healing is a part of our salvation, just as much as the forgiveness of our sins.
Nowhere do we find Jesus refusing to heal anyone. In light of Jesus’ statement that He could do nothing of Himself, but only what He saw the Father do (Jn. 5:19 and 8:28-29), His actions are proof enough that it is always God’s will to heal.
There are certain things Jesus suffered for us that we should not suffer.
*Jesus died for our sins so that we would not have to pay for them (Rom. 6:23). *Jesus took our sicknesses and diseases so that we could walk in health (Mt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24).
*Jesus became poor so that we, through His poverty, might be rich (2 Cor. 8:9).
If God be for us, then no one can successfully be against us.
The Lord has made every provision for you to walk in all He has provided for you today. Don’t put it off a minute longer.
*Take time to evaluate where you’ve been and to remember the things that you learned through your experiences.
*Do not give in to the temptations that come for you to be a victim of the difficulties you have endured, but rather use those lessons as a platform and a launching pad into greater wisdom and spiritual effectiveness.
Those things have made you stronger and have the potential to increase your faith if you maintain a proper perspective.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Father in heaven, I yield myself to You today. Search me and know my heart. Use me for Your glory. Let me be a beacon of Your love and light everywhere I go. Show me who to pray for and let Your healing virtue flow through me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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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
This devotion, part 3 is Dedicated to my Best Friends that have lost a dear Nephew in his 20’s and to all the rest of us that have lost a young person in our lives.
When you loose a loved one–We don’t come with any glib answers. Let’s face it. This is tough stuff. We’re stunned. We’re hurting. We don’t understand. BUT! What JOY I have BECAUSE OF JESUS!
A new body for my new spirit is promised because I BELIEVE! Eternal life with JESUS is my destiny!
Oh Lord, I will tell YOUR STORY everywhere I go to everyone I meet! For heaven rejoices even the more for the one who receives YOU!
1 Timothy 1.
*Our past failures should remind us that we are all sinful (v.13-14)
A. REPENTANCE unlocks Gods GRACE and MERCY!
B. Mercy is Not getting what you DO deserve (v.13)
C. Grace is getting what you DON’T deserve. (v.14)
*Our current struggle with sin should keep us HUMBLE (v.15)
* Jesus redeems our past to make us an EXAMPLE (v.16)
* Jesus should get glory for anything we do that is ADMIRABLE (v.17)
I am a sinner who has sinned against God first and others second.
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.
*God’s grace can change anyone.
*Grace is the core of it all. God’s grace covers our sin.
Luke15:23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
Luke 15:10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
*God’s love is unconditional! God wants his children to come home.
*God is eager to show us his love, we must be willing to except his love and live in a way that honors him. Come home to you Father and Creator!
* God’s Grace can never be anything but a gift not conditional. A gift that came at a great cost.
*Paul found grace on the road to Damascus.
*Have you found grace?
** God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love and sound judgment.
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
John 6:37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.
Saul to Paul:
1. 1 Tim. 1:16- worst of sinners
2. Eph. 3:8- least of God’s people
3. 1 Cor. 15:9- least of apostles
Paul worst of sinners:
1 Timothy 1: 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
*In this we are united . That Jesus came For us that need Him
*Because of what He has done for me, who am I to be judgmental? Unkind? Unloving?
*Because He has shown me mercy, even at my worst, I will serve him. He has called me out by name and has given me freedom. Jesus came to save the lost…even a sinner like me.
* I will remember that I am in the same camp with Paul as being a huge sinner that has been saved through God’s Grace patience and love.
Paul least of God’s people:
Ephesians 3:8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.
*I will lead knowing that it is God’s plan for me.
*In the Word of God there are rich mines of truth that we may spend our whole lifetime in exploring, and yet we shall find that we have only begun to view their precious stores…. There are unsearchable riches for us. It will take us all eternity to comprehend the riches of the glory of God and of Jesus Christ ….Christ has said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). Have you exhausted the fountain?
Paul least of apostles:
1 Corinthians 15:9 For I (Paul) am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
*Humility was the secret to Paul’s greatness. When we are humble we work harder. We realize that we don’t deserve what we have. A humble person will work any Job and do it well. Seeing every moment as a gift, an opportunity, he allows the grace he has received to fuel him to greatness. Here we see life after a man is spiritually awakened to his condition as an opportunity to catch up and win a race. A race perhaps against his sinful nature, where he surpasses the things that could have haunted him. As he vigorously labors in a new course instead of ruminating about his past he uses every opportunity to make things new, leaving the looming shadows
of the past behind.
If Paul who accomplished so much for the furthering of Christ’s Kingdom had a profile like this, what’s our excuse?
Also consider Moses had a temper, Noah got drunk, Gideon was a coward, Rahab a prostitute…
Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
1 Corinthians 15:22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
The Spirit, however will live forever if we live as God would have us live and are faithful to His teachings. The physical death is not the end; it is the beginning of a joyously life without end.
2 Corinthians 1:4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
God, I am reminded this week that you are super patient with me and that I do not deserve your mercy or grace. I pray that I am able to extend that same grace and mercy to others. Father thank you for loving me and for sending your Son Jesus Christ to come and save a sinner like me. Thank you for your mercy and love. May I show your light in this dark world so others may also come to know your Love. Loving and Trusting You, Jesus- always!Amen.
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This devotion (part 2) is Dedicated to my Best Friends that have lost a dear Nephew in his 20’s and to all the rest of us that have lost a young person in our lives.
The greatest “WHY” in the Bible was uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross when He said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
*Because Jesus gave himself on the Cross, we can trust Him to have answers to ALL our other “WHY’S”.
We left off yesterday with this Question.
Where will you go when it’s your time to die?
In the passage, Jesus said to Mary and Martha in John 11: 25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies. Do you believe this?”
Jesus didn’t merely say that there is a resurrection. Jesus claimed that HE IS the resurrection. The fact that He would rise from the dead was the guarantee that others would too. We often think that this is the land of the living, and that when we die we go the land of the dead.
The opposite is really true – this is the land of the dying, when our life here is over, we are transferred into the land of the living – either to a place of eternal joy or to a place of eternal torment. There are really only two possible destinations.
There’s only one requirement for entrance into resurrection life — it’s not a matter of trying to be good or even going to church — the only requirement is that you personally believe that Jesus exchanged his life for yours by absorbing your sins on a cross and that He rose again so that at the moment of your death you will rise too. (Ponder this. It’s Easter this weekend-He Has Risen!)
“To KNOW Jesus is to have eternal Life! (John 17:3)
Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
*It states that Jesus took the form of a human, meaning He is fully human and fully God, and defeated sin and took our place. Which is why we have no worry of hell or God’s wrath because Jesus paid it all.
* When trouble comes, remember that, God has not forgotten about you!
*When trouble comes, remember that, God still loves you!
*Feelings of insecurities: Helplessness-Isolation-Fear of the future-Pessimism.
Help us Lord to: Let GO & Let God!!
God uses all things (even illness) for His glory. (Romans 8:28)
But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. (Galatians 4: 14)
*Paul was struck with an illness that is undescribed in Scripture. We can guess that they would have prayed for his healing, but he was not healed. God used that illness for Paul to preach to the Galatians.
*As joint heir with Christ, I want to live in freedom. I want to be able to stand firm in Christ and not be burdened by the yoke of slavery (sin). I want to live my life by the fruit of the spirit –Knowing I will face temptation on every side.
I know that God loves me and that my flesh is not always obedient. BUT GRACE!
Jude 24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.
*When we get to Heaven and stand in His glorious presence, it will be joy unspeakable.
Isaiah :55:6 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
*Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. “For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”. (Matthew 26:41)
*Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (Colossians 4:2)
*Never stop praying. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Look up, says the Lord. Again, I say, look up! You have been looking too close to yourself and your own concerns so that you have not discerned what the Lord is doing.
You must see and know what the Lord is doing as well as what the enemy’s plans are against you. This is a time when the Lord will again bring you to new heights spiritually so that you can see and discern with greater clarity. He also is releasing an anointing that will increase your ingenuity, the power of your creative imagination. Position yourself to make the most of this next move.
Psalms 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11).
* Paul says the battle is not against flesh and blood; it lies deeper than that.
*The basic problem is that this is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan and that people themselves are the battlefield.
* The battle is visible not only in the wars, revolutions, and crime waves that fill our newspapers, but it is also seen in the inner tensions and fears of individual lives, in the neurotic problems, all addictions to sin, and mental illnesses that afflict us today, in family fights and church struggles. It is even visible in nature, where all of life competes in a ruthless, deadly struggle to survive.
The whole race has fallen under the control of satanic forces, which Paul calls, “the world rulers of this present darkness” (6:12).
*We are not set free to live unto ourselves. We are set free in order to battle.
*That is the call that comes to all Christians.
*We are not set free in order to enjoy ourselves.
*We are set free to do battle, to engage in the fight, to overcome in our own lives, and to become the Channels by which Others are Set Free.
How do you do this? Paul’s answer is in one phrase:
“Put on the whole armor of God.” Full provision has been made that you might win in this battle. This is the amazing thing we must learn.
God has made full provision for us to fight these forces that hold the world in their grip.
Remember: We Fight From Victory not For Victory! (1 John 4:4).
We need to be Praying(talking to Jesus) through our circumstance which means simply this:
*The strength, power and encouragement we receive from the Lord while shut in with Him must see us through the trials ahead.
* The Victory you get in the secret closet, with the Lord, has to give us Victory on the battlefield. (Life)
*What exactly do you get from our time of prayer if not something that can see Us through the battle?
* “Praying through” means waiting for the total completion of your prayer. *Many of us Christians see only half-answered prayers because we do not allow what we received from the Lord in prayer and Word to carry us through our current trial.
Let us Never Forget, prayer is not finished—it is not “completed prayer”—until it sees us through to the other side of our trial.
*We have not “prayed it through “until we have “lived it through” our trials by the strength we received in God’s presence.
Under the control of satanic forces human beings are uncomfortable and unhappy but also completely unable to escape by any wisdom or power of their own.
*But the good news is that some have been set free through the coming of that “stronger one,” Jesus Himself, who came, as John tells us, “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8b).
Through Jesus- deliverance is obtained. Through the amazing mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection, Jesus has broken the power and bondage of Satan over human lives.
*Us who individually receive and acknowledge this (totally God’s Grace and Gift) are set free to live in the freedom and liberty of the children of God. Praise God for the ones that make it.
But through the years of personal experience and the years of listening to others; the Battle is a daily-hourly Struggle and we really don’t totally HEAL until we Grieve properly and then start giving away to Others in NEED– the Knowledge, Truth, Love and Discernment we experienced through it all. This is Called “Our Testimony” of what Jesus has Done for “ME”!
*Revelation 12:11 And they have defeated him(satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
*Jesus has broken Satan’s power over us.
It is not enough to only seek God when we face our troubles. The victory for you and me WAS WON when Jesus took our place on the Cross.
2 Corinthians 1:4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
Father, tear away the delusive veils by which I have allowed myself to be rendered powerless in this great battle. Help me to understand that I would have no possibility of fighting were it not for the delivering work of the Lord Jesus, who has come to bind the power of darkness.
Lord, You are worthy of a mind that meditates on You daily; a heart that loves You steadfastly, and a will that follows Yours. When You call, help me respond according to who I know You to be: Faithful.
I would truly be nothing and nowhere without you Lord. Thank you for restoration. Thank you for restoring and renewing me. Thank you for rest and peace and love and joy and comfort. I will position myself Lord so that you can work through me to bring yourself glory honor and praise.
Thank You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
End of part 2 see part 3 tomorrow
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