^{The art of remaining steadfast in the midst of persecution}

^{James 1: 2 – 12}

While we see that in the world and especially in our country of India, Christians are facing persecution and being persecuted is not a new thing and there is no guarantee that persecution will end, but our guarantee is that God is with us. God is there to sustain us in every adversity. We just need to have a close relationship with God.

God wants us to run our race with patience, full faith and God has chosen us to be victorious. God does not want us to live our lives in constant worries, sorrows and troubles, because on the Calvary cross, the Lord Jesus Himself conquered it all.. God’s love is ours.

God never changes God wants us to be strong and when we face trials then we will truly experience success and this is what presents us as a wonderful testimony.

According to Romans 12 : 21 Conquer evil with good like the Lord Jesus Christ who loved and forgave people and in the same way, we have to reflect the nature of God in our lives.

Lord Jesus Himself said ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’ He will be with us till the end of this world so we do not have to worry even about our lives Luke 12:22-26 absolutely nothing to fear or worry.

Prayer

^{Lord Jesus, I come to your graceful throne. At your feet, I pray that You fill all our Christian brothers and sisters with Your Holy Spirit and help them overcome every difficult situation. Lord, full of power help us all to be Your true son and daughter !!!Amen}

Sol.Mahendra

Fear Of The Lord

The fear of the Lord, translates into positive character, a major doorway to blessings in life while the absence of the fear of the Lord, translates into negative character, a major doorway to curses in life.

The Blessings of the Lord is not negotiable. God is under pressure to release the Blessing on His people if the conditions are right.

Psalm 133:3.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing –

Life forevermore.

One of the best words to describe the fear of the Lord is reverence, according to me. Reverence is a response to a revelation of God. When God reveals Himself, I believe the only appropriate response is reverence. And with it goes submissiveness. A submissive attitude toward God is an expression of the fear of the Lord in our lives.

I want to share with you some of the benefits of the fear of the Lord. This is one of the most exciting aspects of serving God.
These verses will get each of us excited when we learn what the fear of the Lord will do for each one of us.

Let’s look first at what God said to man in Job 28:28.

“And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.”

True wisdom is inseparable from the fear of the Lord. Many people think of wisdom as something intellectual, like cleverness. But wisdom is not cleverness—because cleverness can exist with evil. The fear of the Lord cannot exist with evil.

Psalm 25:12 offers another wonderful benefit of the fear of the Lord:
“Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.”

This verse indicates that God doesn’t teach everybody—and God doesn’t choose His students on the basis of examinations. He chooses His students on the basis of character. And He does not commit Himself to teach those who have no fear of the Lord. You can go to the best Bible school to learn, but without the fear of the Lord you are not a pupil of God. You can only be a pupil of human teachers, but not of the Lord.

And then two verses later—in Psalm 25:14 —we find another wonderful thought:

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.”

Isn’t that marvelous?

If you fear the Lord He will share His secrets with you. You only share your secrets with somebody who is intimate with you—a person whom you trust isn’t it?

Prayer

Sol.Fiona

Revelation 1:3 ,”Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,for the time is near.”

From the above verse we understand five things which are helpful in the growth of one’s spiritual life and ‘Blessed people are worded people ‘

1. One must have firm faith.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:7,”For we walk by faith not by sight. ” Here the verse tells us that the people who trust God they do all their activities by faith. Worldly people react to what they see around them. Anywhere faith is lacking Christianity becomes a mockery. It is critical to know that the subject of faith cannot be over- emphasized because the journey of Christianity is called, ‘The walk of faith.’ Ephesians 2:8 also tells us, “For by grace we have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. “So we can live fearlessly trusting only God for everything and no Christian can brag about their “goodness”.

2) Faith increases by His grace and knowledge.

2 Peter 3:14-15 tells us, ” therefore, beloved ,since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish ,and at peace .And count the patience of our lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him.” Peter is talking to believers here, which helps us understand what kind of peace Peter is describing. Peter is not describing the peace that comes from salvation, but the peace which grows in sanctification.

3) To live with purity and holiness.

-John 17:17-“Sanctify them in the truth;your word is truth.” The word of God shows us where we are lacking or doing wrong. It corrects us and encourages us to live a holy life. The Word of God is a Preserver of life and destiny.

4)It gives power to serve our God. -Ephesians 2:10-“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” The passion and zeal in you for good works are the result of His work in your life because the greater One is at work in you.

5)It prepares to serve.-

Colossians 3:16-“that according to the riches of His glory He may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being. ” The word of God gives us ability to teach others with proven knowledge. It also prepares us and gives us willingness to praise and worship Him. Your intake determines your welfare in life.

Prayer:

Father , we thank You for Your word which gives us life. Your words unite us with Your spirit. Your words prepares us to come and stay in Your holy presence. Amen.

Sol.Babu Sebastian

From Mt. Zion, the spiritual Zerubbabel shall deliverance flow

O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan, O majestic mountain, Mountain of Bashan! Why do you look with hatred, O many peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for His abode, yes where the LORD will dwell forever? Ps.68:15,16

These, then, are the historical circumstances on which I hope, with God’s blessing, this day to build up a spiritual interpretation; and to show spiritually, if God enables me, how all the mountains (& many there are) which stand in the way of  completion of the work of grace in the soul, and the building of the inward temple where the Holy Spirit takes up his abode, (for “your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit”) all disappear before the spiritual Zerubbabel, the Lord of life and glory.

1. For instance. There is the mountain of *God’s inflexible JUSTICE.* Who knows anything of God’s justice, righteousness, purity, holiness, and indignation against sin while in a state of nature?

But “before Zerubbabel,” this lofty mountain of God’s inflexible justice becomes a plain. He has fulfilled it; therefore He has removed it out of the way. As the apostle speaks, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” (Col. 2:14.)

2. *But there is also an UNBELIEVING heart,* which stands up as a great mountain between salvation and the soul.

When this truth is revealed by the Spirit in the conscience, that “without faith it is impossible to please God,” we are brought to see, that to live and die in unbelief, is to live and die in our sins.

The spiritual Zerubbabel, with one glance of His eye, with one touch of His finger, with one word of His lips, in one moment, can cause faith to spring up in the soul to receive Him in all His covenant fullness. And thus, the great mountain of unbelief, which seemed completely irremovable and utterly impassable, sinks down into a plain; and we can no more refuse to believe when the spiritual Zerubbabel gives us faith, than we could believe before he gave it. When faith is given, of all things it is most easy to believe; the mountain before Zerubbabel sinks into a plain.

3. *But there is also the burden of SIN,* that lies hard and heavy on a tender conscience. The iniquities and transgressions of his past life; the base, backsliding of which he has been and is perpetually guilty; the slips, falls, and inconsistent words and actions; and the horrible workings of a depraved nature—all these at times lie with great weight and power on the conscience of an awakened sinner, and, like a mountain, press down his soul to the earth.

But, the spiritual Zerubbabel, has shed atoning blood to wash away all this guilt, has brought in everlasting righteousness to justify the ungodly, and has a heart full of love which he can and does shed abroad in the soul of his beloved ones. Thus, then, this burden of guilt and shame, this great mountain, before Zerubbabel,  becomes a plain.

4. *A HARD heart.* And O, what a burden a hard heart is to one whose conscience has been made tender in God’s fear!

O mountain  but He makes it dissolve, flow down, and melt into a plain. He softens the heart, (as Job says, “God makes my heart soft,” 23:16) & makes it tender and contrite before Him.

5. *But a thousand DIFFICULTIES, a thousand PERPLEXITIES* stand in the way of a soul that fears God.

“Who are you, O great mountain?” the Lord still says by His prophet. “Who are you?” What! Is this mountain too great to be removed? Are these peaks too lofty to flow down at the Lord’s presence? “Who are you?” “Before Zerubbabel,” let Him but speak, let Him but appear, let Him but smile, let Him but drop one soft word into the conscience, “before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.”

6. *But whatever good thing we try to do—whatever spiritual thing we are engaged in,* we are sure to find some mountain or other in the way.

Who are you?” What! too great to be removed? too hard and rocky to be knocked down! “Before Zerubbabel!” one touch of His finger, one glance from His eye, one word from His lips; let it be the highest mountain, although it be a second Andes, it shall at once “become a plain.”

Sometimes your hard thoughts of God are removed; your doubts and fears take wing and fly away; your carnality & earthliness are for a time dispersed; heavenly affections, spiritual desires, holy breathings & ardent longings come into your heart; & you feel some embracement of Jesus in the arms of faith, because “before Zerubbabel” this mountain has become a plain. You will have a mountain in your way well near every step that you take in the divine life.

Shall not Grace finish what Grace began? The promise is express. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6.) The mountain of doubt, fear, unbelief, questionings, perplexities, shall “before Zerubbabel,” in it’s own time&way “become a plain;” & He will bring forth the head-stone thereof with such sweet revelations of His blood and love that the soul will shout “Grace, Grace unto it.” Zech 4:7-10

Sol.Joan

The Importance of faithfulness

Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Psalm 12:1 

In these Verses we can see David ask Lord for help because people were not being godly or faithful. Being faithful is as important today as it was then.

It is hard to find people who will be really faithful- people who will stick with you when they find out you are not perfect.The Bible says “A friend loves at all times, and is born ,as is a brother , for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). In other words a true friend is a person who is born to stick with you in your hard not-so-nice times.I believe one of saddest thing in our society today is that we do not have this kind of loyalty and commitment. Many people miss out on so much because they are not faithful to see things through to the finish. Even sadder is that most of them will never even realise what incredible blessings they have missed.

David continues to say in the next verse of this Psalm that people were speaking worthless, untrue words with deceitful, double hearts. We need single minded men and women who can set their hearts on something and stick with it without being double-minded and speaking empty words. Double -hearted people believe one thing one day and something else the next day. One day they like you and  next day they do not. They may be for you today , but against you tomorrow.

The Bible gives us many examples of faithful people. One of them was Moses, who was faithful in all the house of God (Numbers 12:7)  That means he was faithful to do exactly the duties God gave him to do after day month after month, year after year, even when he did  not feel  like being faithful. Moses was so faithful that even when his sister and brother, Maria and Aaron , spoke against him, He loved them and remained faithful to them. He had so much faithfulness in his character that even when the people in his life did not treat him well, he remained the same way.

In Bible tells us that God remains faithful even when we are faithless( 2Timothy 2:13). That is why God wants us to be. ^{If anybody else is faithless, still we remain faithful. If you feel as though you are the only one who is being nice, the only who is apologizes or tries to do the right thing, keep on doing it. Determine  in your heart to stay loyal to God and to keep bearing the fruit of faithfulness. Amen.}

^_Prayer

Lord Jeus your life is our example of faithfulness. Fill our hearts with your humbleness, so that we can remain faithful and bear fruit. Amen.

Sol. Kamal

“At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice ,’Eloi Eloi lama Sabachtani’ which means ‘My God ,My God, why have you forsaken me ‘.

Mark 15:34

         In the above verse, Jesus was praying to God the Father as an ordinary human being. When He was about to be crucified, all the people stood against Him. All the miracles that Jesus performed for the glory of God the Father, were completely ignored by the Pharisees and sadducees.He was accused of evil by them. The scribes and the Pharisees who were well versed with the word of God had full control over all the activities of the temple ,were jealous of Him. They were highly reputed people but lacked the love of God in their hearts. They wanted  respect from the people around them. When Jesus revealed that He had come from God the Father and would destroy the temple made of rocks and rebuild a new temple  in just three days .This new temple would be called the house of blessings and mercy. Everyone ‘s sins would be forgiven. People would get eternal life .This was the good news that Jesus wanted to give them.

        The Pharisees and the sadducees were not liking the importance that Jesus was getting and so they started defaming Him. Isaiah 53:5 says very clearly that   ,“But He was wounded for our transgressions ,he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him;and with his stripes we are healed “.Jesus didn’t hate anyone because people had gone astray and were following the path of sin .Instead He prayed for them and forgave them.

                 Jesus didn’t oppose these people nor He ever hated them but always prayed to God the Father that His words may be fulfilled in their lives.

        After His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead.His resurrection brought blessings in the lives of the people. Same way, we all should also take our prayers and requests  to our Heavenly Father ,that is, God the Father.

     O Abba Father, thank You that You always accept our prayers. You always change our mourning into joy.You always fulfill Your promised words in our lives. Amen.

                     Sol.khushi

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes  we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

When I read the above verse, I Think about people who say is there a God existing . I don’t believe in God . But when we ask the people with another question are you a sinner or have you sinned before? There are Different answers from them and it is all pointing to Yes. Some of the answers I have given below

1. Who doesn’t sin

2. Well a righteous person will always have evil thoughts in his mind

3. Who doesn’t lie, everybody lies?

4. Who doesn’t sin everybody does?

Yes we are all sinners and fall short in God eyes says the bible

In Science there is a law- Newton’s third law says that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” . We all accept that and it is proven

The bible says the same, “whatever a man sows he will reap”

Imagine for the sins we do we have to face the consequences

But God so loved us that he made a exception to make his son , our Lord Jesus Christ to carry it for us as in the above verse Isaiah 53:5

I was a born Catholic. Every Good Friday I used to go to the church to see the  drama of the   Crucification of Christ. Yet I see people are not touched by it or repenting from their sins because Satan blinded them from the truth that it is because of our sins Jesus has to go to the cross & to make us holy & righteous he has to spill his precious blood

There is a revival in Israel I saw in happening in YouTube where a group of people saved by Jesus preaching Gospel only with the chapter Isaiah 53 to the Jews.  When they are preaching the truth and spell the name “Yeshua” in Hebrew all of the Jews say our ancestors didn’t believe in Him then so we don’t believe in Him now. They preach the same from Isiah 53 which says nobody accepted Him not even his own people but Jesus gave his life to redeem all of us from our sins. They show evidences from this chapter and from the prophetic books and the only person who fits the description is Jesus and many are touched by their ministry and believe that Jesus died to redeem them from their sins.

A servant of God who was mightily used by God for bringing revival in America in the 20^th century told these amazing words. When I go to heaven and if they ask me a password to enter heaven I would say it is “The cross of Christ”. It is not because I am famous or preach to many crowds but it is only because of Jesus who took my sins in the cross and without Jesus there is no hope of heaven for me. Yes it is true that we don’t have any hope of heaven no matter how much we accomplish or do, our social status or our wealth no matter what we have if we don’t come to The Cross and washed by the blood of Jesus Christ we don’t have any hope of heaven or Eternity.

Prayer

Lord Jesus we come to The Cross where you have carried our sins. Cleanse us with your blood “O” Lord that we may be Holy and righteous when we enter this new year and live according to your will. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Sol.Leo

UNSHAKEABLE FAITH

^{1 John 5:1
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.}

God has clearly said in the above verse that whoever believes in my son will be called my children and He shall give all the blessings. God also made this clear that the one who remains obedient to Christ will get eternal life. Our faith makes us victorious.

My dear brothers and sisters, we just need to be patient and have faith in Christ, even when we are in a turmoil. Make your innermost being stronger in the Word of God to remain confident, as God is always holding us close especially in difficult situations. We can be shaken up in difficult situations, but we will not fall when God is holding us.

James 1:2-3
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Our faith makes us victorious. I am writing it again to assure you all that we need to have unshakable faith in Jesus Christ, His work on the Cross and in His plans for our lives.

Hebrews 10:35
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Hebrew 10:38,
By my righteous one shall live by faith, but if he ever retreats, My heart will not be happy.

These verses are there in the Bible for our confirmation that God showers His blessings upon us and rewards us only when we keep our faith firm in His words. This faith our Lord has given to each one of us by His grace. God loves us. He loves us more than all that He has created in the sky, on earth and in water.

Prayer

^{Our gracious heavenly father we thank you for all the grace you have given us. Give us the grace to remain unshakeable in faith and trust you at all situations in our life. In Jesus name I pray Amen}

Sol.Renu Solanki

Thinking is Speaking

Matthew 9:20-21 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood for 12 years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment, for she said within her herself, “If I may but touch his garment I shall be whole”.

God does not only hear and answer words, he hears and answers even thoughts.

The woman with the issue of blood, said within herself. That was a thought. What she thought inside her was what occurred to her. This means, thinking is speaking, even when one does not say a thing with our mouth, our thought is saying it. God is not only answering our asking, he also answers our thinking. It is an established fact of life that what happens outside the body is a product of what happens within. Our internal environment controls our external manifestations. Our internal environment controls our external environment. What goes on inside of us is heavier than what goes on, on the outside of us. So our Internal environment directs our external Environment. What happens to me is a product of what happens in me because it is in my thoughts.
This is why the word of God clearly states in Proverbs 23:7 – For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
Things do not happen to people by accident most times, things happen to people according to their thoughts. God does not only answer your asking, he also answers your thinking.
Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
We cannot think upward and stay downward, we cannot think forward and move backward, we cannot think authority and end up in captivity. Thus, each one of us must use the word of God and the light from it to direct our thought, renovate our mind, and fine tune our life.
No matter how hard we try, our life can never rise above our thoughts. We are in a generation where many of us are overwhelmed with the kind of thoughts we have, diverse thoughts and diverse pressures on the mind. It is important to know that one of the most powerful weapons in life is the Weapon of Thought. For a thought can make a life, a thought can also take away life. Thought can raise a life, thought can also ruin a life. Thought can assist someone to end an eternity in heaven whereas thought can also assist another person to end in eternity in hell fire. Thought has brought the greatest blessing upon the world. Thought has also brought the greatest damnation on earth.
I am sure that all of us are aware of what Adolf Hitler did, he wanted to rule the world which led to a devastating war that engulfed the whole world. Therefore, each one of us should realise how powerful our thoughts can be (Proverbs 4:23,23:7).
The quality of our thoughts determines the quality of our destiny. So our thoughts will determine results and it will also determine our destiny. Thus, we should examine our thoughts to ensure that it aligns with what God wants and then renew our mind by reading, studying and meditating on the word of God according to Joshua 1:8.
Thought will sponsor change and transformation, Romans 12:1, Luke 15:17. When our mind is renewed, our life is upgraded. When our thinking changes, our life changes too. When our thought pattern is reviewed, our destiny is revitalised. Every reality around us, today, is a product of our mentality. If I do not like how my life is, then I need to change my thought, for the place of thought is the place of destiny. For the right thought, attracts the voice of God.
Acts 10:19, Matthew 1:20
For the voice of God, can travel inside the right thought. God speaks to those who know how to think and think correctly. For what we think, determines what we hear.

Prayer

Father, I ask for the grace to attune the thoughts of my heart to the scripture for the renovation of my mind and the fulfilment of my life and destiny, in Jesus’ name.

Sol.Fiona

Walk in Him, Rooted and Built-up in Him, Established in the Faith.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6‭-‬7 NKJV

The above given verse exhorts us to walk in Him as we have received Christ. Walk in Him means having fellowship with Christ. Paul uses such expression in 2Cor 5:17 when he writes “if anyone is in Christ” He is a new creation.

Enoch walked with God three hundred years. He was 65 years when he started his walk with God and we know that he was taken up to heaven by God. He walked with God in faith and his faith pleased God. Now the only way to please God is to believe in the One, God sent to the earth. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.

John 6:28‭-‬29 KJV
Believing in Christ Jesus whom God the Father has sent is the only way to please God.
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:5‭-‬6 NKJV
When we believe in Christ Jesus it can be said that we are rooted in Him and we are nourished by Him. When we are nourished by His Spirit we are growing in Him and built up in Him. We can do nothing without Jesus. In John 15, Lord gives a fine analogy of Himself as the true vine and calls us to remain in Him to be branches in order to bear fruit. A branch cannot produce fruits unless it remains in the vine. If the branch is detached from the main plant it is good for nothing and can be burnt only,. We abide in Him by faith and we are justified by faith. This justification happens as Jesus has taken all our inequities on Himself and took the punishment in lieu of us. We are justified and declared sanctified. Sanctification continues till we are glorified. This is how we are transformed into His image. All these processes happen by grace, which is the unmerited favour shown to us as God loves us so greatly. We are saved by grace.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:12 NKJV

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:14‭-‬15 NKJV

We are legally adopted into His family and we are heirs of authority by faith. What a privilege ! We receive the promise of the Spirit by faith which. works through love. Be thankful to God for drawing us close to Him by grace so that we are His children and call Him Abba, Father. Let us not complain and murmur, take heed lest we fall.

Sol.Salomi Kurian