Jere 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah known as the weeping prophet of the Old Testament was sent to the Southern Kingdom of Judah to warn a crumbling nation. He had a very rough life. He says ,I am called by Your name and when I found Your words I relished on them. This is Christmas, New Year time, a season where people, families meet over banquets and buffet’s, imagine the table full of good food. Jeremiah says his experience was like this when he reads God’s word, it brought him joy and rejoicing in his heart, in other words, God’s word is “soul food”. It transformed him amidst his trials. John1:1 says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. This means that when we read the Word of God, we are reading, hearing God.
Let us look at the benefits of the word of God: When we face troubles and difficult days we are drained off, do not bother to fix your troubles, dig into the word of God, for God’s word is Spirit and life(John 6:63). When we walk through dark days, God’s word is lamp unto our feet and lights up our path. (Ps.119:105). The Lord says is it not His word like fire and a hammer that breaks a rock? Do you have a rock like issue in your life? Search the word, declare the word over it, that rock will be broken and burnt. (Jer23:29). In fact, the word is a sword used for warfare, believers are in warfare and our sword is the word of God, (Eph6:17)wherein we have victory for sure. The word of God shall not return void says the Lord, it shall do what it has been sent to. (Isaiah55:11).
Our emotional health is dependent on our gut health, the bible says renew your mind with the word of God (Romans12:2) , we must have heard about mind management , 5 steps and 10 steps etc. . but God says this is way better, the word is health to our flesh and strength to our bones(Prov3:8)It’s in the bone marrow that blood cells which are vital for life are created. God said it even before stem cell researchers found it. So, if we are worried, tensed, depressed, sick, the medicine is right there in the word.(Prov4:20-22).Who does not want to be successful and prosperous? The Lord commanded Joshua that this book shall not depart from our mouth and that we shall meditate in it day and night and observe to do as told. (Joshua1:8) This is the key to success and prosperity. Better than any management book in the world. Every scripture is God breathed says 2Tim3:16-17.
Let us breathe in Yahweh which is life and life abundant. Let us dig in like never before into the word of God which is the greatest secret treasures available to us, let Holy Spirit help us to unravel the mystery and take us on a beautiful journey with God in 2023, all in Jesus mighty name!
Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. “
Further we read in this chapter that he had many blessings and used to offer burnt offerings daily for himself and his children. He wanted to make sure that in case his children had sinned and separated from God, his sacrifice would wash away their sins. And then further in the same chapter we read that the Lord God had made a hedge around Job’s house, and all his works were blessed.
So one day God told the devil that he should look at His servant Job as there was no other man like him who was straight and God fearing . First of all, when we fear God, we stay away from evil and there is integrity in our life, then God also feels proud of us. For example, if our children are good and our children obey us, then we also feel proud that our children are not only obedient to us but they also love us. Well, in the same way even God takes pride in us. God ties His fence all around every work of our hands.
When God appreciated Job, Satan believed God’s appraisal was an overstatement and he got irritated. He told God that once God removed His protection from his possessions then see whether Job still continue to be faithful to Him . And in fact we read further in this chapter that God gave authority to satan over his children ,over his food and over all his possessions even over his body except his soul . Yet Job did not blaspheme God with his own mouth and remained trustworthy. Job boldly told people around him that if we take blessings from God then why not take sorrow also.
Here we notice that even though Job was suffering so much, he did not speak anything bad against God. In the same way when we face any adverse situation in our lives which may or may not be because of our own weaknesses or wrongdoings, we blame God and we point our fingers at Him, on His justice, on His actions. Actually we are the ones to give chance to Satan to create upheaval in our lives.
We see in Job’s life that God later gave him back twice the amount of blessings he had before. So it’s really important that we should never try to blame God for what we are going through today. Let us check ourselves in our adverse circumstances and fix our lives and don’t doubt the grace and kindness that God shows us and should have full faith in God’s trustworthiness because God is always trustworthy. God is not a man who makes false promises.
Prayer
My heavenly Father, we bow before You with all due respect and reverence and offer our obeisance to you. Lord, no matter what we face in our lives ,we will trust You because You are trustworthy and nothing is really too hard for You. I believe that You will not let any harm come near Your children. I ask this prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
If we see, today we are live in such a world, where there is only sorrow, trouble, disease, problems. And we also worry about tomorrow, what we will eat, what we will wear. That’s why we can not live peacefully life. So we need God very much in our live.
Our Lord is very great, He knows our needs and He always ready to take care of us. God help us when we are in trouble, He helps us to come out of it. We should also know that life is worth more than all those materials things; we should consider and take action first is “seeking God’s Kingdom”.
Matthew 6:33 says that, if we want to get blessing in our life and we want our life and our family to blessed then we must first seek his Kingdom and his righteousness according to the word of god as it is written. We should follow his commandment and keep growing in the lord always be ready to see Gods Kingdom and his righteousness that we may get his blessing and his care upon us. if we can see the so many people are around us who are leaving in sorrow and painful life but by the grace of God we all are good and healthy because his mercy always stay with us . one thing is that that He only wants from us we should follow his commandment and keep growing in the lord and read the word of God which He provide us.
1 Thessalonians 5:14, now we exhort you brethren, warn those who are unruly , comfort the fainthearted, uphold the week, be patient with all. What ever we do today put your worries aside and put curd first then you will find that everything you need will come to you because the one who promised never to leave you.
Today My Prayer.
Dear Jesus, I thank you for today, I thank you for the previous days; you never forsake me you are so gracious to me and have show me your mercy. lord I pray today that your power to overcome temptation and problems. lord help me trust in you for the best in everything I do because I know you have the best thing for me and never disappoint me so please dear lot take care of everything today
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit”.
Proverb 18:21
As we read in Genesis 1:1-31,God created everything that we see on this earth by speaking prophetic words.When there was darkness on the earth He spoke light and this way He separated darkness from light. The earth was isolated and then God spoke life and this way all animals, fish, birds,greenery,the sky etc. were created by Him.
He created the wonderful nature by speaking beautiful words.
G OD has made man in His likeness. So whatever man says it creates a lot of impact on his surroundings and upon his life and the life of people around him..
This is the blessing God has given us and we can make very good use of this as we can bring lot of positive changes around us. We normally see that people are in habit of speaking negative words instead of speaking positive and life giving words. As a result we see chaos all around this world. That’s why God ‘s words clearly tells us that we have been called to give blessings.
Mark 11:23 tells us,
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
“We also see that before Jesus was crucified on the cross, He was brutally beaten and cursed words were spoken for Him by everyone. He was humiliated, tormented and put to shame in every way. Then in that difficult time, the prophetic words were spoken by the Lord Jesus for Himself .
In Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, “I am and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power , and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Amen . When He was taken to the cross then according to the words that He spoke through His mouth, though the death was sure,but the words for eternal life that He spoke for Himself ,He got it.
Father God, bless each one of us today to speak good ,blessed and life-giving words even when circumstances are not in our favour.Help us to make this earth also like Your heaven by speaking good and positive Amen.
There is a story in history that goes like this. Peter fled from Rome ,fleeing arrest and fearing that he would be crucified. As he was traveling, he meets the Risen Christ in a vision who was heading towards the city of Rome. Bewildered, Peter asks ‘ Lord, where are you going?’. Jesus answers ” I am going BACK to Rome to be CRUCIFIED AGAIN “and disappears. This answer makes Peter come back to Rome to embrace martyrdom. Peter’s decision to leave Rome was not motivated solely by fear, he earnestly believed that he needed ” to proclaim the gospel ” elsewhere. He was thinking he was doing what was best for him and for the early church. He did not realise his Calling /Will of God was to die as a martyr—to give his life as a witness for Christ. After his encounter with Christ, Peter realised one thing ‘ If Christ WILLED it ,it was Worthwhile and Holy. We all have quite a bit of Peter in us. Often like Peter, we feel confident about our own ability and decision. We often take decisions based on what ‘We think’ is best for ourselves . ‘ There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death ‘ (Pro.16:25)
– meaning a spiritual death because ” Only he who does the will of the Father will enter into the kingdom of heaven .( Mat. 7:21). Even a well- meaning choice can lead us from the ‘path, the plan and will ‘ of God .We see many pastors,evangelists, priests and Bishops doing the ‘ministry ‘ as they call it. No doubt they ” proclaim the gospel”. Are they proclaiming it according to the “will and plan ” of the Lord?! The way Lord wants them to do, the place where the Lord wants them to be ? Or doing just what “they want” to do, or on the ‘platform’ prepared already? Easy and cosy ? Like Peter, we all think what we do is ‘ the best’. Are we going to crucify Jesus again by our lack of discernment –going/ doing against His Will , running away from Our Calling? Let each one of us realise our mistake and pray.
Prayer Our gracious heavenly father”Lord, Let your WILL be done in my life as it is ( written) in heaven”.Amen
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful ,Counsellor,The mighty God, the everlasting Father,The prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6.
This verse is a prophesy of the coming rule of Jesus on earth.The passage announces the birth,the deity,His eternal government, His just kingdom and the eternity of Christ..He was born for “us”.,to save us from the bondages of sin and give us eternal life.
Jesus is the Son of God as proclaimed in this verse. John 3:16 says”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. Most of the worldly leaders fail as they don’t know how to manage their inner beings.They do not have a model or wisdom or knowledge to deal with the uncertainties of life, business and industry.
These shortcomings are met in the five titles and attributes of Jesus as specified in this verse.
“And the government shall be upon His shoulder”.Government of Jesus is not a rule over kingdoms but over the heart and mind of His followers.
The leadership rest on His shoulder as He is the cornerstone
“Behold the days come, Saith the Lord,that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper,and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth”.
“He shall be called, the Lord of our righteousness “. Jeremiah 23:5,6.
He won’t exploit or oppress people but frees them, remove their burdens, equips,enables , liberate people to live fully and abundantly. The verse prophecy that His governance over us will keep increasing or expanding.
We are co -rulers with Jesus to establish the rule of justice and righteousness on earth. Revelation 3:21 says “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne”.
“He is a wonderful counsellor “, natural,supernatural, miraculous and amazing.He is a counsellor, one who advice,guides ,understands and comforts us.This is the dimension of wisdom and understanding.
“I will bless the Lord,who hath given me counsel”. Psalms 16.7.This is my testimony.He guides and advice me by His word through out my life and is comforted.
“He is the Mighty God”. That is justice and righteousness of God is met in earth as in heaven.He intervenes on our behalf against powerful enemies .
“For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God head bodily”. Colossians 2:9
“ He is also an everlasting Father”.This shows His caring nature,love,concern,provision as a loving Father,rebuking and correcting us.
John 10:30 says “I and My Father are one”. The miracles of Jesus ministry testify to the source of His might. A Pharisee ,named Nicodemus, a ruler of Jews, testified that”Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles, that thou doest,except God be with Him”
John 3:2. We all need to trust Him.The mighty Jesus is able to give His strength to us.Isaiah40:31.
“He is the prince of peace “.His blood shed on the cross cleansed us from all our sins.He destroyed the works of the devil. He replaced the ruler of of darkness in our hearts and gives us peace.
He command the waves of every storm in our lives to be calm and they obey His word and voice.He gives us peace in our inner being regardless of the circumstances.
We need to utilise these five dimensions in our lives,family,office and nations.God’s covenant with David that His Son would reign forever is not yet fulfilled.
There is a day coming when He will reign.Titus2:13 says “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ”.
Heavenly Father ,we bow down before your throne of grace . Help us to utilise the five dimensions in our lives.we ask in Jesus mighty name .
I greet you in the sweet name of Jesus Christ, who promises to do what he says.
Genesis 12:4 “So he went as the Lord had told Abram, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Aaron.”
Genesis 21:1 “And the Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said.”
The Lord did to Sarah as he had said. “ Yes.Beloved, Abraham is a good example that when we do as the Lord has said, the Lord also fulfills what He has said in our lives. On this day, we can see some of the characteristics of Abraham, the prophet and the father of believers.
First, we see that Abraham was obedient to God.
We have already seen in Genesis 12:4. When Abraham was told to leave his own father’s house, his country, his family, and go to the land that God would show him, Abraham left.Beloved, Abraham is seen here as a man of God who obeyed God. When we listen to God’s voice and obey his commandments, the Lord who promised Abraham, who did what he said to Abraham, is able to do what he said to us.He has given us many things as commands, have we obeyed them? What should be left out? When we are told where to go, let us think whether we believe and obey. When the Lord said to Abraham, Go to the land that I will show you, we see that he went without knowing where he was going. He immediately obeyed without questioning where, why or what.
Second, we see that Abraham was a godly man who worshiped God.
Genesis 12:8 “And he removed from there, and went to the mountain east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and prayed to the name of the Lord.” Genesis 13:4 “He went to a place where he had built an altar from the beginning. There he called on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 13:18 “And Abraham moved his tent and dwelt in the plains of Mamre in Ebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.” When we see in the above verses, we see that wherever Abraham went, he built an altar and prayed to God. Yes. Beloved, worshiping God is very important in our life. Do we build an altar every day to worship God? Do we give thanks to God? Do we praise the Lord? Are we laying our lives on the altar? Do we have that time to worship together with the Lord? Because Abraham was a worshiper, the Lord fulfilled what He had told Abraham.
Third, we see that Abraham was a God-fearer.
Genesis 22:12 “Now I know that you fear God, because you did not regard him as your son, but gave him up for me.” Dear ones, who is our Isaac today? What is our Isaac? When we put it on the altar we can know that we are truly fearing the Lord. Fear of man brings a snare. But there are great blessings in fearing the Lord. The fear of the Lord will increase the days of life. We read in the scriptures that he who fears the Lord receives many blessings. At this time we will all think whether we fear the Lord.
Fourth, Abraham is known as the father of believers.
Romans 4:17 “I have made you the father of many nations.” As we see in verses 18 to 21, it is said that Abraham did not consider his old age and his wife’s dead pregnancy. He glorified God and was strong in faith, believing with absolute certainty that God is able to fulfill what He has promised, without doubting God’s promises without faith. Dear people, do we have such faith in the Lord today?
Hebrews 11: 8-9 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go to the place where he was going to receive freedom, obeyed and did not know where he was going. By faith he wandered in the land of promise as a foreigner, and he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the promise.”
In the above verses we know Abraham’s faith. Are we as faithful as Abraham? When we believe we become God’s prophet. The scriptures say that blessed is the one who believed, for what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled. Scripture says that he who believes will see the glory of God.
Fifth, Abraham is a hospitable man.
In Genesis 18:1-5 we see that he entertained 3 angels without knowing him. Because of Abraham’s hospitality, the three angels announced the good news that you will have a son. Do we have hospitality? Let’s explore that. Sixth, Abraham is seen as a man of intercession and prayer. In the verses from Genesis 18:22-33, through his brother’s son Lot, knowing that the city of Sodom and Gomera is going to be destroyed, he intercedes for those people. On this day, are we seen as prayer warriors who recommend to the Lord for souls and cities that are perishing?
Seventh, we see that Abraham was a warrior.
In Genesis 14:12-17 we read that once when his brother was taken prisoner, he fought against his enemies and rescued him and all his belongings. Let’s think about whether we are also fighting for our brothers on this day
Eighth, we ask that Abraham be called a friend of the Lord.
Genesis 17:22 and In Isaiah 41:8 we read that after the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left him. God shares everything in his heart with Abraham as a friend. Are we friends enough to hear what is on the Lord’s heart this day? We tell the Lord our burdens. But he is looking for a friend to share his burdens. Can we be seen as such a burden bearing friend of the Lord? In John 15:15 Jesus looked at his disciples and said no more I will call you servants. He says I call you friend He says I have told you everything I heard from my father. Dear ones, the Lord is looking for a friend who can keep God’s secret and bear his burden. Can we be such a friend? We have seen some of Abraham’s qualities. If we too will change our lives like Abraham, as the Lord did what He told Abraham, may the Lord fulfill through us what He has promised to our family, what He has promised to our constituencies, and what He has promised to this nation. Amen.
Rom 12:1,”…. present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
We have been meditating this whole month of December, 2022 in all our meetingson the above verses in order to know the real meaning of worship.
We see that the word worship in the Bible was used at first in Genesis 22:5 wherein Abraham said to his servant that he is going to worship with Issac although he was not having any musical instruments but the perhaps a sword or knife, no song book rather a resolute mind to offer his only son to God. Sowhat kind of Worship it was? Obedience
Why did God put this test before Abraham? Because he wanted a devoted heart, fulfilment of his very first command in Abraham’s life- You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3) thus taking Issac out of his heart and restoring his heart as His chosen altar.
What sacrifice we can give to God? Our Body is His (1 Cor.6:15, Gen 1:27), all our possessions are His (Haggai 2:8, Eccl 5:19) Everything He has given to us. He wants us to live an obedient life (Matt 7:21), a heart free from all evils (Lev. 1:12 Heb 12:14) and full of only His praises (Heb 13:15-16)
Rom 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testingyou may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Thessalonians 5:21, “But test everything; hold fast what is good.”
2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
We know that God’s wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ, His son (Romans 8:28-30) through the test of our faith in Him.
We are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds to discern God’s will. It’s not one time transformation or chastening but continuous and we can know the will of God only by the continuous tests and trials that we face in our Christian walk in this world. Holy Spirit sanctifies us and renews us in our failures and our perseverance in continue to follow His commands makes us to know as well as do His will.
Prayer:
Lord, help us to be transformed from our world pleasing image to your true image reflecting Jesus through our every action and deed for we know that this is your perfect will for us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
What we should do/add/learn/build in our lives to grow in the Lord?
2 Peter 1:5-7 Make every effort to add to your Faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
2 Peter 1:8,9 You will possess these qualities in increasing measure… whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
2 Peter 1:10,11 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
These are the step-by-step things which we need to add to our life to get matured in the Lord.
Faith – it’s the 1st step of a Christian life. We are saved by having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are healed by faith. Faith is the central/base quality of a Christian life.
2. Goodness – we will need to add goodness to faith for growth. To be good and do good and do right. We will have to do “Good works”. As per Matthew 25:40-45, we will have to help the poor and needy.
3. Knowledge – Then we should add the knowledge of God and his word to our Faith and Goodness. We should learn his ways, times, plans, purposes, steps, etc. We should understand his will, prophecies and learn to interpret them.
4. Self-control – Then learn not to go back to our past sins. Learn to self-discipline and self-control of our thoughts, plans, actions, habits, etc. Learn to do good and avoid evil. No-body has to come and tell to do good, instead it should come from our own/self.
5. Perseverance – If we try something and it didn’t work, we need to try again and again until it works. For example, Thomas Alva Edison failed 1000 times before inventing the Electric bulb. Even in the ministry, if we see failures, we will need to persevere and get it done without getting upset/irritated. Deuteronomy 31:8 Do not be discouraged, for the Lord will be with you.
6. Godliness – Then add to our life Godliness. Learn to depend on God for everything in our life. Grow in worship, have personal relationship with God. Reading and meditating the word of God. Sharing Gospel, conduct troop churches, etc.
7. Brotherly kindness – Grow to the stage we become like Good-Samaritans. Show kindness and help those who are in need.
8. Love – The greatest commandments we receive from the Lord is Love the Lord and Love your neighbour. 1 Corinthians 13 – Love is patient, kind, not easily angered, protects, trusts and never fails. Love is greatest of every attribute we possess. Love is the last stage in becoming a matured son of God. Bible says in 2 Peter 1:9 Whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. In my personal life, I’m trying to build/learn all these attributes to become a matured son of God.
Prayer:
Our father in heaven, please help all of us to learn/grow in all these attributes to become your sons and daughters. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.
2 Corinthians 3:18 ” And we all , with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another .For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
As the new year is approaching, we thank our God Almighty who was with us throughout the year and helped us to grow and improve in the word of God, in our prayer life. Praise be to our heavenly Father His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit who has given us one more year to win and change, and improve, in prayer, in the word, in service and to grow. May this coming year we all grow in our spiritual life. When we pray and walk in the grace of the Holy Spirit we come close in Jesus ‘s presence. When we experience His power, love and righteousness ,we change in His likeness. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrew 1:3 )
So Christ Himself gave the apostles ,the prophets, the evangelist , the pastors and teachers to equip His people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ(Ephesians 4:11-13).
God’s supreme plan is that we be like His son Jesus. We are already cut from the rock. The process of giving shape to each one of us has already begun. It’s a slow and many times a painful process for some. Our God is a craftsman. He makes no mistake. Our work is to be always under His divine guidance. We need to completely surrender ourselves in His mighty hands. (1Peter5:6). Never get disheartened in making efforts. May be the beginning is slow, the path rocky but the end will be glorious.
“I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 “
An eye that never sleeps and ear that never stops listening the arms which never get tired, such is His love for us, there is love that never ends.
Prayer
Oh heavenly Father thank You that You chose me ,loved me ,taught me, made me your daughter, built me piece by piece. Please help me .Mould me, make me like a clay .Make me the way you want me to be. May you be glorified by my life .I ask in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
