For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.
No Matter What
It is written that love is the greatest of all gifts, and truly it is. Love is powerful, and there is power in love. Love brings joy to the soul, encouragement to the brokenhearted, and hope to the hopeless. Love conquers all things, overcomes all things, and endures all things. For love, this love that I speak of. It comes from God, poured forth like a mighty river flowing from the very heart of God himself.
Blessings, in the love of Christ.
In His Glorious Name Ministries Online
Jesus Christ Is God's Beloved Son.
Never take God’s love for granted. Let us be deeply appreciative of His love.
Through Jesus Christ, the God of love gives to us His wonderful redemption.
Through Jesus Christ, the God of love gives to us His victory over Satan.
This is an outline of a post which can be read here.
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Make The Man Of God, Complete For Every Good Work.
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Train Us In Righteousness (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Train Us In Righteousness (1).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Correct Us (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Correct Us (1).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Reprove Us (3).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Reprove Us (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Reprove Us (1).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Teach Us (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Teach Us (1).
In our learning from God’s Word and in our teaching God’s Word to others, we are to honour the Holy Spirit. He is our Teacher. This is what Jesus says concerning Him - ‘the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you’ (John 14:26). As we walk with the Lord, ‘letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly’ the Holy Spirit will not fail us. He will not leave us without a word to speak for Him (Colossians 3:16; Luke 12:12). In the ministry of God’s Word, we are to say only what the Holy Spirit gives to us for the spiritual feeding of the people.
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God For Our Profit.
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Bring Us To Faith (4).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Bring Us To Faith (3)
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Bring Us To Faith (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Bring Us To Faith (1).
Our first question is this: ‘Where does faith come from?’ Is there a basic inclination in man towards believing? The parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14) gives us, in the proud Pharisee, a striking picture of man apart from the grace of God. We may not believe that we are absolutely perfect but we will, nonetheless, look around ourselves until we see someone to whom we can point and say, ‘Lord, I’m not as bad as him. I’m better than him’. The Holy Spirit has a very definite answer to such sinful pride - ‘you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things’ (Romans 2:1). How do we move from being the proud Pharisee, boasting of our own self-righteousness to becoming the humble publican, crying to God for His mercy? There is only one way, the way of the Gospel. It is when the ‘Gospel’ comes to us ‘not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction’ that we are brought to faith (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2:13). Let us not imagine that we can bring others to faith without the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us.
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Bring Us To Salvation (2).
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word of God To Bring Us To Salvation (1)
The Holy Spirit Uses The Word Of God To Lead Us To Christ.
The Holy Spirit UsesThe Word Of God To Make Us Wise.
"Believe In The Lord Jesus, And You Will Be Saved."
For ‘all those who have believed’, ‘the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’ will be a great Day, the Day of celebration, the Day of our salvation, the Day of ‘our being gathered to Him’(2:1; 1:10). ‘When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven’, it will be a Day of judgment for ‘those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus’(1:7-8). The Word of God is very clear about God’s purpose of salvation: ‘God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him’. ‘The Lord does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’. ‘God wants all people to be saved’(John 3:17; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4). You can say ‘No’ to Christ - and perish. Say “Yes’to Him - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’(2:10; John 3:18; Acts 16:31).
2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:18
Paul prayed for the Thessalonians and he asked them to pray for him. He prayed that God would ‘comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word’(2:16-17). He prayed that they would enjoy peace: ‘Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in all ways’(3:16). He asked them to pray for his ministry - ‘pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed on and triumph among you’(1). Paul was writing to the Thessalonians, ‘You keep on praying for us and we’ll keep on praying for you’. We must not forget each other. We must remember each other - in prayer. Far too often, we forget. It becomes a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. We’re not to live in the past. We are to keep on praying for those who belong to our past. Don’t forget to remember!
We Need More Than The Words Of The Preacher. We Need The Power Of The Holy Spirit.
If God is to be glorified through the preaching of His Word, there needs to be more than the ‘words’ of the preacher. There needs to be ‘the power of the Holy Spirit’(1:5). Good preaching is not a matter of ‘plausible words of wisdom’. We must look for ‘a demonstration of the Spirit’s power’(1 Corinthians 2:4). When the Spirit is at work, there is effective communication, leading to a life-changing encounter with God. ‘When you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers’(13). Don’t let God’s Word ‘go in one ear and out the other’. The ‘message’ will do you no good if you don’t hear it ‘with faith’- ‘Today, when you hear His voice, harden not your hearts’(Hebrews 4:2; 3:15).
1 Thessalonians 3:1-4:12
We need both ‘love’ and ‘holiness’(3:12-13). Our love is to be holy. Our holiness is to be loving. Getting the right balance between love and holiness is like walking a tightrope. You can easily lose your balance and fall off. We can be too soft - all love and no holiness. We can be too hard - all holiness and no love. Love doesn’t mean ‘anything goes’- ‘I don’t care how you live’. That’s not love. That’s indifference, a ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude. Holiness doesn’t mean looking down your nose at other people - ‘You’ve sinned and I will never let you forget it’. Don’t be like ‘the Pharisees’. They wanted to ‘stone the woman caught in adultery’. We must not ‘stone’ people with our ‘hot tongue and cold shoulder’! Be like Jesus. Show love- ‘I don’t condemn you’- and holiness- ‘Do not sin again’(John 8:3-11).
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:28
Do you feel like giving up? God is not about to give up on you: ‘He who calls you is utterly faithful and He will finish what He set out to do’(23). He has a great future for us: ‘God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ’(9). We look forward to the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘The Lord Himself will descend from heaven’(4:16). We look forward to heavenly and eternal glory: ‘We shall always be with the Lord’(4:17). This is the kind of encouragement we need. We are to remind one another of these things: ‘Comfort one another with these words’(4:18). We are ‘to encourage one another’ to go on with the Lord. Let’s ‘build one another up’, encouraging each other to build on ‘the Rock’ which is ‘Christ’(11; 1 Corinthians 10:3; Matthew 7:24-27).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Jesus Christ - The King Of Kings
No human king can even begin to compare with our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘the King of kings’(Revelation 19:16). The people of Jerusalem were full of confidence. They ‘trusted their king to protect them from every invader’. They thought Jerusalem was invincible: ‘No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem’s gates’. They were wrong. They thought it would never happen - but it did! The unthinkable happened! ‘They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen’. Why did it happen? God’s Word gives us the reason: ‘It happened because of the sins of her prophets and... priests’. The king - ‘the Lord’s anointed’- was unable to prevent Jerusalem’s defeat (12-13,20). Praise God - We have a greater King: our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Lamentations 5:1-22
‘You, O Lord, reign for ever; Your throne endures from generation to generation’. We must remember this when we feel like we have been ‘forgotten’ by God. When we feel like God has ‘abandoned’ us, we must remember this: ‘You, O Lord, are King for ever, and will rule to the end of time’(19-20). We are not only to pay lip-service to the Lord our King. We are to crown Him as King of our heart and life. How are we to do this? We must pray, ‘Bring us back to You, Lord!’(21). God is looking for a real return to Him and a real difference in our lives. ‘In your hearts enthrone Him. There let Him subdue all that is not holy, all that is not true...’; ‘So let us learn how to serve and in our lives enthrone Him, each other’s needs to prefer, for it is Christ we’re serving’(Church Hymnary, 300; Mission Praise, 162).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Great Is Your Faithfulness
There are times when it seems nothing is going right for us: ‘I am the man who has seen affliction...’(1-3). In such times, we must remember this: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end’. When we find ourselves in circumstances of great distress, we must learn to look beyond the things that are happening to us. We must learn to look to the Lord and say, ‘Great is Your faithfulness’. It will not be easy to see God at work in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong. We must be patient as we wait for the blessing of the Lord to return to our lives. We must put all our hope in the Lord, trusting in His precious promise: ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’(22-26).
Lamentations 3:25-42
In our ‘grief’, we must not forget the ‘compassion’ of God (32). He understands us. He cares for us. How do we know that God loves us? ‘Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). This is the greatest demonstration of God’s love for us. How can we doubt God’s love for us when we think of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross for us as our Saviour? When we think of God’s love for us, we must remember that He calls us to love Him. We are not to take God’s love for granted - ‘God loves me. I can do what I like’. We are to appreciate God’s love - ‘God loves me. I will love Him’. God loves us. Christ died for us. How can we say, ‘I’ll do what I like’? How can we refuse to be changed by His love? ‘Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us open our hearts to God’(40-41).
Lamentations 3:43-66- ‘You came near when I called You... O Lord... You redeemed my life’(57-58). We wonder, ‘Will God answer my prayer for salvation?’. Yes! At the Cross of Christ, we learn that God loves us and answers our prayer. ‘You did not wait for me to draw near to You, but You clothed yourself in frail humanity. You did not wait for me to cry out to You, but You let me hear Your voice calling me. And I’m forever grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for the Cross; I’m forever grateful to You that You came to seek and save the lost’. ‘Thank You for the Cross, the price You paid for us, how You gave Yourself so completely, precious Lord, precious Lord. Now our sins are gone, all forgiven, covered by Your blood, all forgotten, thank You Lord, thank You Lord’(Songs of Fellowship, 631; Mission Praise, 632).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
God Is Calling Us Back To Himself. Will We Return To Him?
Jerusalem had fallen into hard times - ‘she who once was great among the nations... has now become a slave’(1). The explanation for this sad situation was not hard to find - ‘Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean...’(8-9). Could things be turned around? Could there once again be blessing? There was a way back to God - the way of being honest before Him. They needed to look seriously at their way of life and think seriously about their attitude towards the Lord. They were not to adopt an arrogant attitude - ‘There’s really nothing wrong with us. We’re doing all right’. They were to come to God with a real confession of sin: ‘The Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against His command... O Lord,... I have been most rebellious’(18,20). God’s blessing will begin again when we confess our sin.
Lamentations 2:1-22
Jerusalem’s fall into hard times was not ‘just one of those things that happens’. God’s people brought it on themselves. They did not take God seriously - but God continued to take them seriously. They ignored God - but God did not ignore their disobedience to Him. They sinned against God - and He was angry with them: ‘How the Lord in His anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!’(1). This was not just a case of glibly saying, ‘The good times will come again’. They needed to recognize why the bad times had come: ‘The Lord has... carried out His threat’(17). The Lord had warned His sinful people. Judgment was on its way - if they refused to listen to Him. Now, in the time of His judgment, God is still calling us back to Himself: ‘Cry aloud to the Lord!...’(18-19). Will we return to Him?
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
The Greatest Love Of All
‘You are beautiful... How beautiful you are’ (6:4; 7:6). What beauty can the Lord possibly see in us? We are sinners - ‘We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way’. There’s nothing beautiful about that! Is this the whole story? Thank God! - There’s something more. Christ died for sinners - ‘the Lord laid all our sins on Him’ (Isaiah 53:6). When God looks on us, He does not see our sin. He sees our Saviour, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks at us, and this is what He sees: ‘The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). Through faith in Christ, we are sinners, saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). This is the beauty the Lord sees in us: ‘There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). This is not our beauty. It’s His beauty!
Song of Solomon 7:10-8:14
‘Love is as strong as death... It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it’ (6-7). Here, we see the greatest love of all, the love of God: ‘Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38-39). How can we have the love of God, burning in our hearts ‘like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame’? We cannot buy His love - ‘If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned’ (7). We must receive His love as a gift: ‘So freely flows the endless love You give to me... So easy, I receive the love You give to me... Flowing out to me - the love within Your heart’ (Mission Praise, 603).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
"The Son Of Man Came To Seek And To Save The Lost."
Jesus says, ‘Seek and you will find’ (Matthew 7:7). When we have found Him, we say, with joy, ‘I found Him whom my soul loves - my true love’ (3:4). What does it mean to find Jesus? It means that He has found us. Before we ever thought of seeking for Him, He came seeking for us: ‘the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). He comes to us with words of love: ‘you are beautiful, my love’ (4:1). Before we ever thought of loving Him, He loved us: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). In love, He came looking for us. In love, He has found us. We seek. We find. We say, ‘Hallelujah! I have found Him’. There is something else - His seeking and finding: ‘Amazing grace! How sweet the sound... I once was lost, but now am found...’ (Mission Praise, 31).
Song of Solomon 4:9-5:16
There are times when the Lord comes very near to us. We pray, ‘Let my Beloved come to His garden’ (4:16). He answers, ‘I come to My garden,... my Bride’ (1). There are times when the Lord seems to be far away from us: ‘I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned and gone’ (6). What are we to do when the Lord’s presence does not seem so real to us? We must remember His promise: ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20). Sometimes, we don’t feel so good. We feel like the Lord has gone away and left us. These are the times when we need His Word of encouragement: ‘I am with you always’. In the difficult times, we must hold on to His promise. We must keep on believing that the times of blessing will return: ‘His speech is sweet; He is altogether lovely... my Beloved... my Friend’ (5:16).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Let The Beauty Of Jesus Be Seen In Me.
The Church is the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-33). We are to be presented to Christ ‘as a pure Bride’, ‘a Bride beautifully dressed’ for Him, ‘the Bride, the wife of the Lamb’ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). Christ says to His Bride, ‘You are beautiful, my love’. Let us worship Him: ‘You are beautiful, my Beloved, truly lovely’ (15-16). Let us look to Christ and see how beautiful He is: ‘You are beautiful beyond description, too marvellous for words, too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can fathom Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above...’. Let us pray that His beauty will be seen in us: ‘Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all His wondrous compassion and purity...’ (Mission Praise, 788,406).
Song of Solomon 2:1-17
Christ comes to us in love: ‘The Voice of my Beloved! Look! Here He comes...’ (8). He calls us to come to Him: ‘My Beloved speaks and says to me, “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away”’ (10). He calls us to belong to Him: ‘My Beloved is mine and I am His’ (16). Let us come to Jesus and experience His love: ‘Jesus, how lovely You are! You are so gentle, so pure and kind...’. Let us come to Jesus and give Him our love: ‘Jesus, I love You, love You more and more each day; Jesus, I love You, Your gentle touch renews my heart. It’s really no wonder why no other love can satisfy; Jesus, I love You, You’ve won this heart of mine!’. Let us come to Jesus and receive His joy: ‘Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart’ (Mission Praise, 361,363,362).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Victory Over Darkness
I encourage those dealing with depression to enter into a place of prayer. What kind of prayer. Simply pray and talk to God. Tell him what you are experiencing and simply ask Him for help.
I encourage you to also find some praise and worship music that you like, listen to it and make it a part of your days. You see when we lift our voices up to God, give Him praise and worship Him. The Kingdom of God, meaning heaven, comes to earth. And when the Kingdom comes, depression leaves.
Blessings, in the love of Christ
In His Glorious Name Ministries Online
How Do We Receive Blessings From Jesus Christ?
The Lord Himself is among us. He is speaking to us through His Word. His Spirit is bringing Christ to us. The Lord is giving us a glimpse of His glory. Jesus stands among us as the risen Lord. He invites us to begin a new life with Him.
Jesus comes to us with the Gospel. He comes to us with Good News. That's what the word, "Gospel", means - Good News!
A little girl was asked if she had ever received Good News. She said that she received Good News when she received the "Yes" replies to the birthday party invitations she had sent to her friends.
This little girl's answer tells us something very precious about the Lord's love for us.
We receive joy when we come to Jesus: !"If I come to Jesus, He will make me glad." There is, however, another joy. It is the joy which we bring to the Lord when we come to Jesus: "there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). We come to Jesus and we receive the joy of the Lord. We come to Jesus, and we bring joy to the heart of the Lord.
Christ asks us, "Do you want to receive joy?" He also asks us, "Do you want to bring joy to the heart of God?"
We may answer the first question selfishly, concerned only with what we can get out of Christ. The second question challenges us to seek God's glory rather that simply seeking our own pleasure.
"What is the chief end of man?" - "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. " Notice the order - first, God's glory and, then, our joy.
The hymn, "Amazing grace", contains a fine combination of receiving from the Lord and giving glory to Him - "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see ... singing God's praise." These words provide us an echo of the words of Luke 18:43, where we read of a blind man receiving his sight, following Jesus and praising God.
Have you received God's salvation? Have you begun to glorify God?
Having received God's salvation, having begun to glorify God, let us go on to follow Jesus, "living together in justice and peace, caring for the world and for each other.
What Does Jesus Christ Give To Us?
"Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
In grace, God pours blessings into our lives. They are blessings which we don't deserve.
How does He do this? He brings Gospel truth to our attention. He speaks to us the Gospel promises, inviting us to come and receive the Saviour and the blessings which come with Him.
The Lord's blessings are very precious.
Think of the joy which He gives to us. Think of the peace which He brings into our lives.
We rejoice in God's gifts. More than that, however, we rejoice in the Giver.
"My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, my God."
There is no true joy apart from the lord Jesus. He is our joy. He is our peace. We do not rest in our feelings. We trust in the Lord. He is the real reason for our rejoicing. Without Him, we have nothing. Without him, we live defeated lives. The joy is not there. The peace is not there.
Why? - Because Jesus is not there.
When Jesus is in our lives, everything has changed. Our circumstances may remain the same. Scripture speaks about the "various trials" we must face (1 Peter 1:6). Through Christ, we are able to face these trials with joy - a joy that is not superficial, a joy which is deeply and securely grounded in the peace which comes from knowing that the Lord Himself is there with us, no matter how difficult life may be.
The joy which the Lord gives is described as "unutterable and exalted joy" or "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8).
The joy and the peace of the Lord becomes ours when the glory of the Lord breaks through into our lives.
"Heaven came down and glory filled my soul when, at the Cross, the Saviour made me whole. My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul."
Who Is Jesus Christ?
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
Jesus Christ is described as "the Word."
What do we use words for? We use words to communicate with one another. We use words to speak to one another.
What does it mean to say, "Jesus Christ is the Word"? It means this - God is speaking to us.
God is communicating Himself to us. He is not a God who keeps His silence. In Jesus Christ, God speaks to us. He introduces Himself to us as the God who is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
If we are to get to know God, we must come to Him by way of Jesus Christ (John 1:18).
Jesus is the Way to God the Father. He is the true and living Way. Through Christ, we are brought to a true knowledge of God and a living experience of God.
Live For The Lord. Let’s Live In The Power Of The Spirit.
Each of us must choose. We can ‘live according to the flesh’ or we can ‘live according to the Spirit’. We can ‘set the mind on the flesh’ or we can ‘set the mind on the Spirit’ (Romans 8:5-6).
The new life in the Spirit is just the beginning. God is preparing us for the greater ‘glory that will be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18). We have ‘the first fruits of the Spirit’. The Holy Spirit is ‘the guarantee of our inheritance’. He is the starter which whets our appetite for the main course!
With Him in our hearts, we long for more - ‘an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you’, ‘the redemption of our bodies’, ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God’ (Romans 8:21-23; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5). Led by the Spirit, strong in the Spirit, we press on to glory (Romans 8:14, 26, 17).
Fear The Lord And Walk In His Ways.
If we are to enjoy the Lord’s blessing, we must fear Him and walk in His ways. Many people despise the place of worship. They ‘pass by’. They have no desire to know ‘the blessing of the Lord’. God warns us that we must not allow this attitude to grow in us: ‘May all who hate Zion be put to shame.’
We must take care that our love for the Lord doesn’t ‘wither’ away. We must keep on praying that our love for Him will ‘grow.’
If we place no value on the Lord’s blessing, our lives will be empty. Come to the Lord with this prayer: ‘The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You, loving You, serving You. I want to know You more, love You more, serve You more’. He will ‘fill’ your life with His blessing (Psalm 129:5-8; Mission Praise, 646).
Look To The Lord And Receive His Strength.
The Lord gives strength to those who put their trust in Him. Trusting in Christ, we have this great testimony: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13). How do we receive the Lord’s strength? We must ‘seek His face always.’ We must not think we can face difficult circumstances in our strength. Without the strength of the Lord, we will be defeated. He has helped us in the past. Never forget this. Give thanks to Him for every victory won. As you face temptation, remember the Lord’s promise of victory: ‘God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. With the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape...’ (1 Corinthians 10:13).
‘He brought His people out with joy’ (Psalm 105:43). When things are going badly and we feel like giving up, we must remember the Word of the Lord: ‘The joy of the Lord is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10). We are to ‘rejoice in the Lord always.’ The Lord does not leave us on our own when our time of testing comes. He is there for us in our time of need: ‘My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:4, 19).
When we are deeply conscious of our own weakness, the Lord comes to us with His Word of strength: ‘My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). Through the Word of God, we receive strength. His Word brings joy to us. Let us sing ‘glad songs of victory’: ‘The Lord is my Strength, my Song, my Saviour’ (Psalm 118:14-15).
Trust In The Lord. He Is Working In Us To Do Us Good.
‘All things work together for good to those who love God’ (Romans 8:28) - this doesn’t mean that we always get what we want. We must learn to ‘let go and let God have His wonderful way’, and to say, ‘This God - His way is perfect’ (Psalm 18:30). Out of love for Rachel (Genesis 29:18, 20), Jacob served Laban for an extra seven years. We would serve Christ better if we loved Him more. Jesus still asks the question, ‘Do you love Me?’ (John 21:15-17).
Worship The Lord, Wait On Him And Walk With Him.
Loyalty to the Lord involves worshipping Him and walking with Him (Psalm 26:11-12).
Walking with God is not easy. There are ‘enemies round about’ us (Psalms 26:4-5, 9-10; 27:2-3, 6 ,11-12). What are we to do? We are to worship God: ‘One thing have I asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House of the Lord…’ (Psalm 27:4).
What are we doing when we gather in the Lord’s House for worship? This is what we are doing - ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage’ (Psalm 27:14).
Where does our strength come from? It comes from God: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation… The Lord is the stronghold of my life’. Strong in Him, we say, ‘My heart will not fear … I will be confident’ (Psalm 27:1, 3).
We Receive Strength When We Trust In The Grace Of The Lord.
In Romans 9, we read about ‘Jews’ and ‘Gentiles’. We learn about salvation. The Jews are not saved because of their nationality. It is ‘not because of works’. The Gentiles are not excluded because of their nationality. It is ‘because of His call’.
Salvation comes from God’s grace, not from our good works. It is received ‘by faith’, not ‘by works’ (Romans 9:24, 11, 30-32).
There is for us here a word of warning and a word of promise.
* Here’s the warning - You can be religious without being saved: ‘not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel... it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God’ (Romans 9:6-8).
* Here’s the promise - You can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ: Through faith in Him, those who were ‘not God’s people’ became ‘sons of the living God’ (Romans 9:26).
Trust in Christ, not in yourself!
Jesus Christ - Crucified For Us And Risen For Us
* Let us come humbly before the Cross, and say, with the Apostle Paul, "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).
* Let us come humbly before the empty tomb, making Paul's prayer our very own: "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10).
Thought For The Day - "God Is Able ... "
God is able to do so much more than we can ask for. Be bold. Pray that God will send revival in our time.
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This thought is taken from
Isaiah 24:1-23
'They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord's majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord, exalt the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: "Glory to the Righteous One"' (14-16). What a beautiful picture of a land that is enjoying God's blessing, praising Him and giving glory to Him! Looking around us, we see a very different picture - 'The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws... therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt' (5-6). Can the dark picture of sin and guilt be turned into the brighter picture of salvation and rejoicing? God 'is able to do so much more than we can ask for, or even imagine' (Ephesians 3:20). Be bold. Pray that God will send revival in our time.
Thought For The Day - "It Is So Easy To Forget ... "
It is so easy to forget the Lord. Even when we forget Him, He does not forget us.
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This thought is taken from
Isaiah 30:18-31:9
'Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!' (1). It is so easy to forget the Lord. We try to go it alone, and we forget to look to Him for help. Even when we forget Him, He does not forget us. When we turn our backs on Him, He calls us to 'return to Him' (6). He reminds us that our true help is found in Him: 'Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth' (Psalm 124:8). We need not look around here, there and everywhere for an answer to the question, 'Where does my help come from?'. There is only one true answer to this question: 'My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth' (Psalm 121:1-2).
Finding Victory In Christ
I encourage those dealing with depression to enter into a place of prayer. What kind of prayer. Simply pray and talk to God. Tell him what you are experiencing and simply ask Him for help.
I encourage you to also find some praise and worship music that you like, listen to it and make it a part of your days. You see when we lift our voices up to God, give Him praise and worship Him. The Kingdom of God, meaning heaven, comes to earth. And when the Kingdom comes, depression leaves.
Blessings, in the love of Christ
In His Glorious Name Ministries Online
Let's Listen To Jesus Christ. He's The Word Of God!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus Christ is described as “the Word.”
What do we use words for? We use words to communicate with one another. We use words to speak to one another.
What does it mean to say, “Jesus Christ is the Word”? It means this - God is speaking to us.
God is communicating Himself to us. He is not a God who keeps His silence. In Jesus Christ, God speaks to us. He introduces Himself to us as the God who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
If we are to get to know God, we must come to Him by way of Jesus Christ (John 1:18).
Jesus is the Way to God the Father. He is the true and living Way. Through Christ, we are brought to a true knowledge of God and a living experience of God.
Do We Have Faith? – Let Us Commit Ourselves To A Life Of Obeying God’s Word.
Don’t worry about ‘what will happen tomorrow’. It’s in the Lord’s hands (James 4:14-15).
We must not lose sight of ‘the purpose of the Lord’. We must remember that ‘the Lord is full of compassion and mercy’(James 5:11).
We look forward to ‘the Lord’s Coming’ as the great Day of our salvation (James 5:7-8).
We must not, however, forget God’s words of warning: ‘The Judge is standing at the door’. God speaks to us concerning ‘the misery that is coming upon you’. What is He saying to us here? - He is warning us: Be careful how you live - Don’t trust in riches. ‘Don’t grumble against each other’(James 5:1-3, 9).
The warning and the promise belong together. Those who are facing judgment can be brought to the Saviour. May God help us to speak His Word - the warning as well as the promise - , always praying that sinners will be saved (James 5:16, 19-20).
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Bless The Lord Oh My Soul
For He is a God that inhabits the praises of His people.
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Wait For God
Worshipping God and working for Him, we await the Day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2). We wait upon the Lord and we renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31).
Paul prayed for the Thessalonians and he asked them to pray for him. He prayed that God would ‘comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word’(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). He prayed that they would enjoy peace: ‘Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in all ways’(2 Thessalonians 3:16). He asked them to pray for his ministry: ‘pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed on and triumph among you’(2 Thessalonians 3:1). Paul was writing to the Thessalonians, ‘You keep on praying for us and we’ll keep on praying for you’.
Far too often, we forget. It becomes a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. We must not forget each other. We are to keep on praying for those who belong to our past. We must remember each other - in prayer. Don’t forget to remember!We’re not to live in the past. We are travelling towards the future – God’s future. God’s future: That’s the reason we keep on praying for those who belong to our past. We pray that their future will be filled with His blessing- filled with the comfort of the Gospel, filled with the peace of God and filled with the triumph of His grace.
We await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him (2 Thessalonians 2:1). As we await the of God’s eternal Kingdom, may we grow strong in the firm conviction that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20:38).
Worship God.
The God whom we worship is so much greater than the worship we bring to Him. Our worship is to be a ‘joyful celebration’.
* We celebrate His great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’.
* We rejoice in His great faithfulness: ‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’.
Here on earth, we have only begun to worship our great God. Our worship will continue in His ‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise His Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:7-8, 13, 21).
Let us worship the Lord – “Sing to the Lord a new song … Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 98:1, 4).
Work For God.
God is challenging us to think about our way of living - ‘Consider your way of life’ (Haggai 1:5, 7). We are to ‘obey the voice of the Lord our God’. We are to change our way of thinking - ‘the people feared the Lord’ - and living - ‘They came and began work on the House of the Lord Almighty, their God’. Let us obey God’s voice. Let us trust in His promise - ‘I am with you’ (Haggai 1
‘“Be strong, all you people of the land”, declares the Lord, “and work. For I am with you”, declares the Lord Almighty’ (Haggai 2:4). We are to work for God. When we commit ourselves to serving Him, the Lord promises His blessing: ‘From this day on I will bless you’ (Haggai
"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that, in the Lord, your labour is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58". "Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King? ... We are on the Lord’s side, Saviour, we are Thine ... Always on the Lord’s side, Saviour, always Thine".
Love Is The Greatest Of All Gifts
Loving, Serving And Following Jesus (John 21)
‘Fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19) - Set your goals lower than this, and you will take others with you. Together, you will discover the emptiness of life without Christ at its centre - ‘they caught nothing’(3). Note the contrast between the self-centered life (5) and the Christ-centered life (6, 8, 11). Loving, serving and following Jesus - These are the most important things in life (15-17, 22). Don’t look over your shoulder at someone else - ‘Lord, what about this man?’(21). Let it be personal - Jesus says, ‘Do you love Me?’(15-17). He asked Peter, ‘Do you love me more than these?’(15) - more than you love these other disciples, more than these other disciples love Me, more than your boats, nets and fishes? Look back and ask yourself, ‘Do I love Jesus more than I did a year ago?’
Keeping Christ At The Centre Of Our Praise And Our Preaching
In Luke 1:68-79, we have a song of praise. Zechariah worships the Lord: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and He has redeemed His people (v. 68). This song of praise – from the father of John the Baptist - is directly connected to the song of praise which came from Mary, the mother of Jesus: My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour ... (Luke 1:46-55). Like Zechariah and Mary, we are to praise the God of our salvation. We are to give thanks to God for the gift of His Son - our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
* Christ is to be pre-eminent in our preaching.
Jeremiah warns us against the false prophets: ‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ (Jeremiah 23:1). We are not to be like the false prophets. We are to be faithful servants of the Lord. God is calling us to be faithful. To John the Baptist, God’s Word was spoken: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him” (Luke 1:76). This is our ministry. We are to prepare the way for the Lord. We are to point away from ourselves, saying, “I must decrease. Christ must increase” (John
Jesus Christ - Our Great Saviour
‘In everything’ Christ is ‘pre-eminent’ (Colossians 1:18).
* He is pre-eminent in our salvation.
In Luke 23:42-43, we read of the thief on the cross, trusting in Christ for salvation. Like the dying thief, we come to Christ in our weakness. He meets us with His strong salvation.
Deeply conscious of our sin, we know that we can do nothing to save ourselves. We must look away from ourselves to the Saviour.
In Him, there is redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14).
Through Him, we receive the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins (Luke 1:77).
Do We Have Faith? – Let Us Commit Ourselves To A Life Of Listening To God’s Word.
Much is said about John the Baptist here, yet the whole purpose is to draw attention to Jesus the Saviour. Jesus is superior to John. He is the One to whom John pointed. There are two responses to Jesus.
- We can take offence at Him: ‘Blessed is he who takes no offence at Me’(Matthew 11:6).
- We can hear what He says, receiving Him with faith: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’ (Matthew 11:15).
In His time, Jesus asked the question, ‘To whom shall I compare this generation?’, giving the answer, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn’ (Matthew 11:16-17).
The promise of the Gospel is preached, yet many will not rejoice. The warning of the Gospel is preached, yet many will not repent. This is the story of our generation.
May God help us to lead people of this generation to Christ, the ‘Friend of sinners’ (Matthew 11:19).
Do We Have Faith? – Let Us Commit Ourselves To A Life Of Worship.
‘I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalm 146:2).
Praising the Lord our God: This is a lifelong commitment. We cannot maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength.
We need the Lord’s help. We must never forget this: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1). We are not expected to maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength.
We have the Lord’s help. We must always remember this: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 124:8).
‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’(Psalm 146:5-6).
Let us join with Mary in saying, ‘My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’ (Luke 1:46-47).
"I Will Give Thanks To The Lord ... " (Psalm 7:17).
In ourselves, we are never anything more than *unworthy servants" (Luke 17:10).
We have "received this ministry through God's mercy" - "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us".
Our ministry is simply this: "We do not preach ourselves , but Jesus Christ as Lord."
Let us pray that God's grace will be "reaching more and more people" and that the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ will "cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:1, 7, 5, 15).
Thank You Charles Cameron
Blessings in Christ
In His Glorious Name Ministries Online
Do We Have Faith? – Let Us Commit Ourselves To A Life Of Holiness.
What blessings are given to those who draw near to God - ‘Your God... will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4).
The Good News of Christ comes to us as a call to faith - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’ (Acts 16:31).
We have been saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot remain the same. We are called to live a new life. We must travel on the Lord’s ‘highway’- ‘the Way of Holiness’ (Isaiah 35:8). This is ‘the Way’ which leads to ‘everlasting joy’ (Isaiah 35:10).
This ‘Way’ is so different from the world’s way. The world has no time for those who seek to live a holy life. This is what Jesus says about the world’s way of life: ‘the gate is wide and the way is wide that leads to destruction’ (Matthew 7:13).
Whatever the world may say, we must never forget this: ‘Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).