Blessings of Belief

 

Emmanuel is God with us. Jesus became a man and laid down His life for the whole world (John 15:13). Now, He lives within us by His Spirit. He works out everything in our life according to His will as we walk in the Spirit and not after the things of this world (Galatians 5:16). He even turns around the negative circumstances in our life for our good (Romans 8:28). When we are in God’s Army, we are under His protection and provision and no one can come against us (Romans 8:31).

Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not even death, or life, or angels, or principalities, or powers, or things present or things to come, or height or depth or any other created thing (Romans 8:38-39). We rise above circumstances and we have supernatural strength, which prevents us from getting weary and giving up. We soar above the stress of the world like Eagles on wings lifted by His Spirit (Isaiah 40:31). The Lord is good, and those who trust in Him are blessed (Psalm 34:8).

God desires peace for us, not evil. He wants to give us a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Everything we accomplish in our own efforts matters little in the Kingdom of God. However, those who wait on the Lord gain renewed strength, day after day, to carry on His work in the earth. He is a friend that loves us unconditionally (Proverbs 17:17), and a friend that sticks even closer to us than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

We have no need to lose heart, even if life around us is falling apart. God uses affliction in our life to create His character and moral integrity in our soul. God renews our inner spirit every day as we read His Word, worship Him for who He is and fellowship with other Believers. We do not always understand why we end up in certain situations in life, because we are looking into a hazy mirror. We only have limited understanding and knowledge. But God promises that in eternity we will understand all things. We will know everyone and everyone will know who we are (1 Corinthians 13:12).

The key is to keep our focus on what is eternal, and not on the natural, temporary aspects of life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Abundance in this world does not even compare to the excellence of knowing Christ as our Savior and Lord. Through our faith in God, He gives us the righteousness of Christ in exchange for our futile efforts (Philippians 3:7-9). Jesus is our High Priest and we can come to Him any time in any place with a true heart that is full of the assurance of faith in Him.

Once Christ dwells in our hearts, we are rooted and grounded in love and we can begin to understand the width, length, depth and height of God’s love for us. He fills us with all the fullness of God according to His power that works in us. He enables us to accomplish through His Spirit exceedingly abundantly above anything we could ever ask or conceive (Ephesians 3:17-21).

Therefore, we can walk in boldness by the blood of Jesus in a new and holy way of living. He sprinkled our hearts with His blood, cleansed our evil conscience and made us a new creation in Him. We can grasp firmly to the confession of our hope in Him without any fear or doubt, because He whom we trust is faithful to keep all of His promises (Hebrews 10:19-23; Deuteronomy 31:6).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we find joy in You, even through our tribulation and the testing of our faith. These trials produce patience in us, and then patience does a perfect work in us, making us complete and lacking in nothing we need to carry out Your plan for our life (James 1:2-4). You reveal Your righteousness in us as we live by faith in Your finished work on Calvary’s cross (Romans 1:17). We desire nothing from You and we seek nothing in this world except the privilege of living in Your presence all the days of our life. We behold Your beauty, Lord, and we enjoy our fellowship with you and Your Saints (Psalm 27:4).

Thought for the Day:

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. - 1 Corinthians 16:13 

 

 

God Has No Grandchildren

 

Read: Matthew 24:4-12

“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.” - Jude 1:24

The truth of the fact that God has no grandchildren is found in Biblical, as well as current life scenarios. No one can inherit their faith from their parents or grandparents. They must answer God’s call on their own. Two people can believe in the one true God and live to worship Him in spirit and in truth as they teach His principles and precepts to their family; yet, one or more of their children may fail to live in the Truth (Joel 1:3). This happened to King David. His own son even plotted to kill him so he could take over his kingdom.

In Old Testament times, whole nations forgot that God raised them up to fulfill a specific purpose, even when God’s prophets tried to remind them (Judges 2:10). In the New Testament, Jesus explained that false teachers were already in the world and were expected to continue to come into the world throughout the Church Age (Luke 17:1). The Spirit clearly claimed that in the end times some would even abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and lies taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1). We see this happening rampantly in our world today. In modern society, we cannot find even one Godly nation left in the entire world.

In our present day, it is even rare to find a church with more than a remote comprehension of who Jesus is. They worship with sad faces and fail to preach God’s Word. They spend more time as social volunteers than as God’s Army. There are very few people who call themselves Christians who actually follow Christ’s teachings or have a personal relationship with Him. It takes humility and courage to call upon Him; but once we do, He lives in us through every step of our future. It is our privilege and calling to share with others what we have in Christ. God calls us to give everyone we know the opportunity to reject or to receive God’s gift of Eternal Life (Hebrews 10:24; Ezekiel 3:18).

The love of God provided Paradise for us to enjoy forever. Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie and aspired to be as wise as God. Their sin brought condemnation on the whole world. Sin also brought sickness, pain, suffering and death. However, God sent His Son to redeem everyone who is willing to believe in Him (John 3:16-18). Jesus freely gave His life to ransom all of mankind from eternal damnation (Mark 10:45). He rose again and proved that, because of the power of Christ within us, any tragedy which befalls us will exalt us in due time (Romans 8:35-39).

If we trust in Him alone, He purifies us and gives us the privilege of living as His children now and in eternity (1 John 3:2-3). Living in a personal relationship with God, we no longer need to understand everything that occurs. We live in faith that God is trustworthy, because He proves Himself to us over and over again. As we walk by the Spirit and crucify the deeds of the flesh, God provides us with a life that flourishes with His constant blessings (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:14). He will also restore everlasting love to the world during His eternal reign over His Kingdom. His forgiveness is only a prayer away.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, may we never forget the sacrifice You made on Calvary’s cross to pay our sin debt and to provide us with everlasting life. Give us the desire to share the Gospel with everyone we meet. Help us to let everyone know what a mighty God we serve and to give a reasoned response for our faith (1 Pete 3:15). Make us salt and light in this world that is dying in decay and darkness (Matthew 5:13-16).

Thought for the Day:

"Many people today do want to serve God, but only as His advisors."

Fertile Soil

Read: Mark 4: 14-20

In the parable in Mark 4:14-20 the farmer sows the seed of the Word of God. The seeds fall on four types of soil: upon the path, among the thorns, within the rocks and then on the good soil. The main emphasis of this parable is that the seed needs a place to send down its roots. If the ground is hard, thorny or rocky, there is no room for the roots. Only in the garden of prepared soil can the plant take hold and grow to full maturity.

Unless people avail themselves of the spiritual food provided in every Bible teaching, evangelical church they will wither up and die like the first three seeds in this parable. This is why these churches also offer Wednesday and Sunday night Bible studies, as well as extra classes for men, women, children and youth on Sunday mornings and during the week. The only way to withstand the winds of adversity or the scorching trials and temptations we encounter in this life is to have our roots sunk deeply into spiritually fertile earth.

Jesus said that we know His disciples by their fruit. If people are to produce fruit, they need good, rich, tilled, fertilized soil. Many churches are barren wastelands with nothing nutritious to offer the Believer. They focus on providing glitz and glitter to attract people, and then they supply only spiritual junk food, rather than wholesome provisions.

Once we receive God’s Word with conviction and repentance, we are ready to receive the proper nourishment. God raises up an army of teachers with every generation - those who faithfully sow the seeds of the truth of God’s Word. Find a Bible teaching, evangelical church, prepare your soil and start blooming.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, cause a hunger to blossom in our soul to search for and to find a disciple-making church. Provide us with teachers who share Your Word after seeking You in prayer. Lead us to a caring and loving fellowship of Believers. Even in these end times, please keep a remnant of these spiritual places where we can go and feast upon Biblical principles and in turn bear much fruit.

Thought for the Day:
A true relationship with the Living and Holy God is not a one-time event or a single prayer. It is a lifetime commitment.