Do You Feel Like an Octopus?

The Lord promises to be with us, even through the veil of death (Psalm 23:4). Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-36). There is no insult, adversity, persecution or difficulty that we cannot rejoice in for the sake of Christ; because when we are weak, that is when He is strong in and through us (2 Corinthians 12:10). In any type of trial or trouble, Jesus gives us His peace, which surpasses all human understanding (John 14:27).

God’s peace is our solace at home, at work and in the community, even when hardships come our way. The first principle of living in victory over Satan and the world is wearing Jesus’ peace as a cloak against any stressful situation we encounter. The Lord is always with us (Psalm 118:6). His peace quells all of our fears, worries and setbacks. He causes our persecutors to stumble, so that they do not prevail in the end. They will not prosper, and they will fail and be disgraced (Jeremiah 20:11).

However, even the Christian life gets overbearing at times. We had so many expectations and ministries to fulfill that we neglect our quiet time with the Lord. We are burdened by expectations from our parents, pastor, friends, employers, children and church family. We get overly committed and start to drown in our myriad of responsibilities. Satan whispers false accusations in our ear and we believe what he says as truth. We start to resent all of these demands and the pressure they put on us to be everyone’s beck and call.

Jonah had these same feelings (Jonah 1:3). In fact, he ran from God and from the ministry God called him to accomplish. He got himself in all sorts of trouble. He even cost his fellow shipmates the loss of their income and almost their very lives. God knows how to take care of us, however, even in the difficulties we tend to create for our self. He knows how to discipline our iniquities and to help us to see His big picture. He reveals to us what our obedience means to His Kingdom and for our blessings.

This helps us to take our commitment to Him more seriously. We spend time reading God’s Word and listening to the leading of His Spirit. The Lord guides us and satisfies our needs, even when our strength fails us. During the dry, parched times of life, He causes water to spring up within us. We dwell as a well-watered garden, even in the midst of troubles and trials (Isaiah 58:11). God’s Spirit is our guide all throughout our life and even through our passage from this life into the next (Psalm 48:14).

Prayer:

Father God, Your infinite Spirit frees us from the restrictions of this world. You transcends time, space and matter (Psalm 139:8), and You fill the heavens and the earth. Your infinite power works for us, in us and through us as we wait on You (Jeremiah 23:23-24). Thankfully, You are not contained in a building, restricted in Your movements or denied Your will (Acts 17:24). You are never far from any one of us, because as Your children, we live and move and have our existence with Christ in You (Acts 17:27-28: Colossians 3:3).

Thought for the Day:
Even if our life does not unfold the way we planned it; God works it out better than our best ideals.

The Wisdom of Believing

God knew that because of the wisdom of the world, people would not believe in Him. Therefore, He used the absurdity of preaching to bring eternal life to those humble enough to listen and to believe (1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 5:13). The law could not justify anyone, but those who believe that Jesus Christ is God who came in the flesh, will be justified through this truth (Acts 13:39). Despisers of God sometimes wonder about the truth; yet they will perish in the end, because they were not humble enough to believe God’s Word declared to them by God’s Saints (Acts 13:41).

The idols of greed, lust, worry and addiction blind the minds of those who do not believe in Jesus. They prevent them from seeing the light of the gospel of Christ, even though the image of our God through the life of Christ should illuminate God’s Truth to them

(2 Corinthians 4:4). It is only by the grace of God that we can believe, and by this belief are saved (Acts 15:11; 16:31). When we accept that God raised Jesus up from the dead, His spotless purity is imputed into our account (Romans 3:22; 4:24). Now, we are dead in Christ, but also live in Him as He lives within us (Romans 6:8; Colossians 3:3).

Many Believers not only live in Christ, but also suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29). They received the Word of God, not as if it came from any person, but straight from God Himself. God’s Truth worked in them so effectively that they believe God even if they have to die for this belief (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Through their example of holy, just and righteous behavior, people everywhere know without a doubt that they sincerely believe that Jesus died and rose again (1 Thessalonians 2:10; 1 Timothy 1:16). They have the assurance that they will also be with God for eternity, even if they have to pass through the veil of death first (1 Thessalonians 1:7, 4:14).

Without faith, no one can ever please God; but if anyone comes to God, it is because they believe that He is and that He rewards everyone who diligently seeks Him (Hebrews 11:6). These authentic Believers do not draw back from living and proclaiming God’s truth; and their belief is what saves their soul (Hebrews 10:39; John 3:16-18). God’s exceedingly great power is given to everyone who believes in Jesus (Ephesians 1:19). Jesus is glorified in all of His authentic Believers. People admire and believe in Christ, because they see Him living in and through us (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

We are living in the end times. God is sending strong delusion into the world, so that people who turned their hearts against Him will now believe Satan’s lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11). They disdain the marriage vows and forbid people to eat certain food, which God created for every one to enjoy. God is the Savior of all men, and especially those who believe in Christ and trust in the living God as we labor and suffer reproach in His name (1 Timothy 4:10). Those who believe and who know Jesus as the truth receive His good and perfect gifts with gratitude filling our hearts (1 Timothy 4:3). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, many people reject You; but to those who believe, You are our precious corner stone of the building, which God is making without hands (1 Peter 2:7;2 Corinthians 5:1). Believing and hoping in the one God, who raised You from the grave, is the first step in the salvation process, but even the demons believe in You and tremble at Your greatness (James 2:19; 1 Peter 1:21). God also calls us to surrender our will to His and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27). Then, we will dwell as Your Body in the earth. By our love for one another, others will see and believe in You as well (1 John 3:23; John 13:35).

Thought for the Day:
Don’t believe everything you hear, but align it with God’s Word first, because many deceiving spirit’s are rampant in our world today.  - 1 John 4:1





Thank you, Vickie Liu, for the use of your photo.

A Personal Rapture

Read: 2 Corinthians 2: 2-4

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:17

We all know that just prior to the Great Tribulation on earth, Jesus Christ will return in the clouds to “rapture” His Saints. He will escort us to Heaven where we will receive rewards for our spiritual works on earth and then participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb as the Bride of Christ.

With this in mind, I contemplated the recent passing of several of our church members. I realized that the soul and spirit of Saints who pass through the veil of death, experience their own personal, instant “catching up” to the throne of God.

I thought about verses such as Luke 16:22 where the beggar died and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. Also, 2 Corinthians 5:8, reminds us that we are confident and willing to be absent from the body, because we know that we shall dwell forever in the presence of the Lord.

The Lord considers the death of His Saints as a precious time (Psalm 116:15). Luke 20: 36 assures us that we shall never die again and that we will be like the angels and live as sons of God. God is our guide even in death (Psalm 48:14) and He raises us up in new life after death, where we shall dwell with Him forever and ever. This encourages me to know that even in death, the righteous have a refuge in the Lord.

Thought for the Day:

"A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth." - Ecclesiastes 7:1

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, draw to Your heart the family members and friends of those who pass through the veil of death.  Fill their hearts with Your love so fully that they will feel no other emotion. Allow Your peace that passes all understanding to wash over them as a waterfall as they find their refuge under the shadow of Your wings. Help them to realize that their strength and comfort is in Your joy. Give them clarity of thinking as You lead them beside the still waters and restore their souls. In Jesus' name and for Your glory. Amen.