tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74427087222800578202024-11-01T16:03:15.484+05:30A TEACHING MINISTRY | Daily Reflections on the Catholic Mass ReadingsKrish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-35237688194210955742014-04-13T17:34:00.002+05:302014-04-13T17:34:46.652+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ut5HqIzTV-w72pJaX8HGPLSUJXGyaD1zJ6x5YBZHslv2meP3BmVOzEgLzJjT_wO8v4ghYE3PKwPlcG1ewxfaQlilGywkmbuQFmU7n4D-UxPaXHIVEfg7j2p2hFfGmBSgqv5B8mCOp5M/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ut5HqIzTV-w72pJaX8HGPLSUJXGyaD1zJ6x5YBZHslv2meP3BmVOzEgLzJjT_wO8v4ghYE3PKwPlcG1ewxfaQlilGywkmbuQFmU7n4D-UxPaXHIVEfg7j2p2hFfGmBSgqv5B8mCOp5M/s1600/Picture+2.png" height="151" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/bible/luk_23_18" target="_blank">www.awmi.net/bible/luk_23_18</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Luke 23:18 <br /><br />And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this [man], and release unto us Barabbas: <br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> What happened to Barabbas is a picture of what happens when a person becomes born again. Barabbas was guilty; Jesus was innocent. Yet Jesus suffered the death that Barabbas should have experienced, and Barabbas went free. <br /><br />Likewise, we were all guilty (Ro 3:23) and condemned to death (Ro 6:23), yet Jesus suffered our punishment so that we might go free (2Co 5:21). Just as Barabbas didn't ask for this substitution, so "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Ro 5:8). <br /><br />Barabbas was freed, but he had to choose whether or not to accept this new start and remain free or go back to his old ways and come under the judgment of Rome again. Likewise, we have all been freed through the substitutionary death of Jesus, but we have to choose whether to accept our freedom by putting faith in Jesus or reject it by denying Him.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-46726605094309227572014-04-10T19:23:00.001+05:302014-04-10T19:23:49.994+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSH1FtCSxXiVjXBVhgzYtnDRP-f4SP1lRHRc-AKG0O07Y7cN51-J2go8oNVVu1gagoP-0nFAz5rQHPdShvlgzVQaPBrTZXVPWQkcT9kDMyYgcqbIB49MiZXAXr9cLbjc8oQbXK7hdBq4/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSH1FtCSxXiVjXBVhgzYtnDRP-f4SP1lRHRc-AKG0O07Y7cN51-J2go8oNVVu1gagoP-0nFAz5rQHPdShvlgzVQaPBrTZXVPWQkcT9kDMyYgcqbIB49MiZXAXr9cLbjc8oQbXK7hdBq4/s1600/Picture+2.png" height="80" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Wonder Years </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.creflodollarministries.org/BibleStudy/Articles.aspx?id=73" target="_blank">http://www.creflodollarministries.org/BibleStudy/Articles.aspx?id=73</a><br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus' ministry—the most dynamic and revolutionary outreach ever known to humanity—spanned a total of three and a half years. What caused His ministry to be extraordinarily life–changing in such a short span of time? Some say it was because He was God incarnate. However, Jesus did not come to earth functioning as God. He was born and lived His life on this planet as a man who operated in the power of God (Philippians 2:6–8, AMP). <br /> <br /> Luke 3:21–22 says that after Jesus' baptism, "…the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." In essence God was saying to Jesus, "I know You are a man, but now I am empowering You to act as My Son." Had Jesus already been functioning as God, there would not have been a need for the Holy Spirit to come on Him. God had to anoint Jesus in His humanity. <br /> <br /> For 30 years, Jesus grew into the knowledge of the written Word. Once the process was complete, He received power from heaven—the power to perform signs and wonders. Prior to this, He had not performed any miracles. Ironically, Jesus' first miracle wasn't walking on water or feeding thousands of people; instead, it was the "small thing" of turning water into wine at a wedding celebration (John 2:1–11). <br /> <br /> Other miracles soon followed. Matthew 4:23 says, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." The Gospel of Mark mentions miracles of healing performed in the lives of lepers, epileptics and those possessed by demons (Mark 5:1–20; Mark 5:21–42). Jesus also raised people from the dead. As a matter of fact, one of the most memorable miracles is the one performed in Bethany when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17–44). Four days had passed since Lazarus' death; however, when the burden–removing, yoke–destroying power of God showed up, the grave couldn't hold him! <br /> <br /> If you are born again, the same anointing on Jesus' life is available to you. You have the power to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead (John 14:12). However, to operate as He did, you must do the same things Jesus did when He was on earth. <br /> <br /> Jesus' "wonder years" can be attributed to two things: the anointing on His life and His commitment to spending time in the presence of God. If you do not spend time with God and His Word, you will never see signs and wonders take place in your life. Jesus said, "…I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things" (John 8:28). When did the Father teach Him? When He spent time in the Father's presence. <br /> <br /> Jesus' life is evidence of what happens when a person is continually connected to God's presence. Jesus is your example. By following Him, you will begin to experience your own "wonder years!"&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-68834870452979209052014-03-28T18:00:00.001+05:302014-03-28T18:00:47.326+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT8LFP28uOm2PwK_zvC3VPf6VtbTeV1hX_A0bHdx-ddg5lvuYB-kk-rVugWb6wOA7CPCzLXAWxG_FJd1XT7ZI7cQt3zRV-FzEszHqaAHQpwKdsQ1j5DkDvcMpwNFmYQ2P2FNMR_FLUfE/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT8LFP28uOm2PwK_zvC3VPf6VtbTeV1hX_A0bHdx-ddg5lvuYB-kk-rVugWb6wOA7CPCzLXAWxG_FJd1XT7ZI7cQt3zRV-FzEszHqaAHQpwKdsQ1j5DkDvcMpwNFmYQ2P2FNMR_FLUfE/s1600/Picture+5.png" height="200" width="170" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://globalgracenews.org/global/grace/have-a-throne-attitude-rest-until-god-makes-your-enemies-your-footstoo/" target="_blank">http://globalgracenews.org/global/grace/have-a-throne-attitude-rest-until-god-makes-your-enemies-your-footstoo/</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Have a Throne Attitude - Rest Until God Makes Your Enemies Your Footstool <br />By: Joseph Prince <br /> <br />You don’t have to wait for Christmas to walk in peace and joy. You can rejoice in spite of your circumstances because God wants you to take a throne attitude and rest while He takes care of everything else for you! <br /><br /> Today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father’s throne (Hebrews 8:1). And the Bible says that as Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). This means that we are also seated at the Father’s right hand. <br /><br />Now, being seated is a picture of rest. In the Old Testament, the priests never sat down. There were no chairs in the tabernacle of Moses or in the temple of God because their work was never finished. But Jesus sat down because His work is finished (John 19:30, Hebrews 10:11–13.) And God said to me, “Son, tell My people to have a throne attitude.” So what does it mean to have a “throne attitude?” <br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Having A “Throne Attitude”<br /><br /> Psalm 110:1–2<br /> 1The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! <br /><br />In Hebrew, the first “Lord” refers to Jehovah, or Yahweh, and the second “Lord” is Adonai. Therefore, the first verse actually reads, “Yahweh said to my Adonai….” After Jesus conquered sin and death, and rose from the dead, He returned to the Father. And the Father said, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” So Jesus’ throne attitude is to sit and expect His Father to bring all His defeated enemies under His feet. <br /><br />In biblical times, defeated enemies were brought back in chains and the victorious king would sit on his throne and put his feet upon the backs of his defeated enemies as a sign of victory. Likewise, Jesus’ conquered enemies are being dragged to Him one by one, and put under His feet. <br /><br />Ephesians 1:20, 22–23 (NIV)<br /> 20… He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand… 22And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is His body… <br /><br />We, the church, are the body of Christ, and who is the one who makes the enemies our footstool? It is not us, but God Himself! God’s Word is the truth and He keeps His Word. God is telling us to have the same throne attitude as Jesus — to rest, while He makes our enemies our footstool. So with each passing day, we have all things, including the defeated enemies of disease, poverty, depression and all kinds of curses, being put under our feet. <br /><br />Enter God’s Rest<br /><br /> Do you want to know God’s definition of His rest? Hebrews 3 describes how the children of Israel were not allowed to enter the promised land because they doubted God’s Word. However, instead of saying “They shall not enter My promised land,” God called the promised land “My rest.” <br /><br />Hebrews 3:11<br /> 11So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ <br /><br />This means that what the physical land was to the children of Israel in the Old Testament is, for believers today, a land flowing with grace and rest — God’s rest! That is your inheritance today. God wants to bring you out of lack and into the land of abundance! He wants to bring you out of sickness into robust health! And this promised land is the place of His rest. <br /><br />God’s Word always tells us “Fear not, fear not!” But do you know that there is only one thing the Bible tells us to fear? <br /><br />Hebrews 4:1 <br /> 1Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. <br /><br />In Hebrews 4:1, God tells us to fear that we don’t enter His rest. Now, many of us worry about many things and everything that God tells us not to be afraid of, we fear. But the one thing that God tells us to be afraid of, we aren’t! <br /><br />Be Rest-Conscious, Not Giant-Conscious<br /><br /> There is another lesson that we can learn from this story. God told the children of Israel that He had come to bring them into “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). This means that the promised land was a place flowing with abundance and provision. It was also a sure promise; a statement of what God will definitely do. <br /><br />However, what was the posture of God’s people when they reached Kadesh Barnea, the border between the wilderness and the promised land? They sent twelve spies into the land for forty days and chose to believe the report of the ten spies who said that the Israelites could not take the land because it was inhabited by giants from the tribe of Anak (Numbers 13:33.) <br /><br />In Hebrew, the word Anak means “chain” or “neck chain.” A chain around the neck is a picture of a yoke which weighs you down. Although God had delivered the children of Israel from their taskmasters in Egypt and they were no longer slaves, they still had a slave mentality. Instead of focusing on God’s goodness and promise, the children of Israel focused on their giant problem — the Anakim — and they were weighed down with anxiety and fear. <br /><br />Today, some of us still have this slave mentality. We are so focused on our “Anakim” — our problems and symptoms — instead of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, that we cannot enter our promised land of rest. <br /><br />Now, I want to pose a question to you that God asked me, which I had to answer as well. Have you ever read the story of the twelve spies and asked yourself if you would side with Joshua and Caleb — the two spies who said, “Let us go immediately and take the land!” — or if you would agree with the ten spies? <br /><br />Well, the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, like your fathers in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7–9). In other words, are your problems bigger than what God is saying about your situation? Before your body is healed, before the money is in your bank account, before every problem in your life is resolved, will you believe that God will deliver you according to His Word and still walk in rest? <br /><br />God wants you to have the revelation that whatever you need Him to do for you has already been done because Jesus has accomplished all for you. And God is asking, “In spite of the giants, would you go up and enter the promised land of My rest? Can you be rest-conscious, rather than giant-conscious?” <br /><br />When You Rest, He Works<br /><br /> What happens when you become rest-conscious? Let’s look at this secret hidden in the story of how Jesus healed a man who had been suffering from an infirmity for 38 years. <br /><br />John 5:8–9<br /> 8Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. <br /><br />I asked the Lord why He asked the man to take up his bed. Why not just ask him to rise and walk? And He showed me that the bed is a picture of rest. So what Jesus was actually saying to the man was, “Rise, take up your rest and walk!” <br /><br />Notice that the day was the Sabbath, the day of rest? Therefore, what God is saying is that when you rest, He works! Isn’t this amazing? <br /><br />Yet, there was a group of people who were unhappy that the Lord had healed this man. <br /><br />John 5:10–12, 16<br /> 10The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” 11He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’” 12Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”... 16For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. <br /><br />The religious people were upset because it was the Sabbath. They saw healing as work. To them, healing the man on a day of rest meant that Jesus was working on the wrong day! <br /><br />Now, if you had known this man, wouldn’t you ask him, “Hey, what happened to you? How did you get cured?” Instead, the people he met said, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” Look, this man hadn’t walked in 38 years! But the people around him were only concerned that he had carried his bed on the day of rest. This is how religious people are: they cannot see the blessings, only the problems. <br /><br />The last phrase “had done these things on the Sabbath” in the original Greek is in the imperfect tense. The imperfect tense generally represents continual or repeated action. This means that it was a habit for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath and He had repeatedly performed such miracles on the Sabbath — on the day that man rests, God is able to work! <br /><br />Your Healing Is In The Rest<br /><br /> Another example is the healing of a woman who was bowed down for eighteen years. When Jesus healed her in the synagogue, the ruler of the synagogue, the woman’s pastor, said, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day” (Luke 13:14).<br /> What was Jesus’ response? <br /><br />Luke 13:15–16<br /> 15The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — think of it — for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” <br /><br />Jesus said that her healing came just by being a daughter, a child of God. But some Christians still think that healing is man’s work, not God’s work. They go around thinking, “I’m not doing enough, that’s why I’m not healed.” They cannot believe that healing can be as simple as being at rest in God’s finished work, saying and believing, “Lord Jesus, as You are free from every disease and sickness, so am I in this world.” <br /><br />Did you know that even the words “healed” and “relaxed” are linked in Hebrew? One of the Hebrew names of God is Jehovah-Rapha which means “I, the Lord, am your healing” (Exodus 15:26). The Hebrew word rapha not only means “to heal,” but one of its root definitions also means “the relaxed.” So healing comes by being at rest, not by working. Jesus’ death has given us life and wholeness. <br /><br />Seek Rest First That It May Be Well<br /><br /> God does not say, “Wait until all your enemies have been destroyed, until every problem in your life has been resolved, then you can rest.” He says, “Rest first until I make all your enemies your footstool.” <br /><br />What do you see when it comes to healing for a condition in your sick body or breakthrough for your financial challenges? Do you see lack and say, “Let me get out of this situation first. Let me hear the doctors’ reports say that everything is clear, and then I can rest?” <br /><br />We find it hard to rest because our human nature is inclined towards worry and restlessness. The devil loves to see human nature reign in the church and to have you believe that you can only rest when things go well or when you see your breakthrough. Stop saying, “When my child finishes primary school, I will stop worrying and rest.” You know what? After primary school, there is secondary school. Then, after your child completes secondary school, you will say, “I think when my child finishes university, then I will rest.” And you will never rest! <br /><br />I want to share about two women who faced a financial situation during a time of famine. Now, Naomi was a woman of God and this is what she said to her daughter-in-law Ruth. <br /><br />Ruth 3:1 (KJV)<br /> 1… My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? <br /><br />In other words, Naomi told Ruth, “Shall I not seek rest for you, so that things will go well for you?” Isn’t it strange that Naomi mentioned rest first? Isn’t human nature more inclined to say, “Shall I not seek for things to go well with you, so that you can rest?” <br /><br />But God wants His nature to reign and He loves you so much that He says, “You are already seated on the throne. You rest first. Sit down until I put the conquered enemies — that financial situation, that symptom in your body — under your feet.” <br /><br />God wants you to find rest in the midst of the storm. And when you rest in Him, things will go well. This doesn’t mean that there are no enemies. But you will rule in the midst of your enemies! (Psalm 110:2) <br /><br />Psalm 23:5 says that God prepares a table for you in the presence, not the absence, of your enemies. Some of you may say, “Lord, how can you expect me to eat now? The symptoms are still in my body! My bank account still shows the lack! Lord, I will eat well and I will celebrate when all my problems are resolved.” But the Bible says God doesn’t follow human nature. God says, “I will prepare a table. You eat first! You eat in the presence of your enemies, and I will take care of your enemies for you.” <br /><br />Don’t Postpone Your Rest<br /><br /> Isaiah 53 describes Jesus’ suffering and what He accomplished for us on the cross. It says that He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, and by His stripes, we are healed! <br /><br />The reason we can rest and rejoice in the midst of our enemies is because Jesus defeated them when He took our place and bore our sins on the cross. He has done it all and the work is finished (Hebrews 10:12–14.) We only need to take up a throne attitude and rest in Him. <br /><br />So, as we are resting in His finished work, what should our response be? How do we partake of all that Jesus has done? Right after Isaiah 53, the scripture says: <br /><br />Isaiah 54:1–3<br /> 1“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not laboured with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman… 
2Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords… 3For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations… <br /><br />Jesus has defeated the enemies and God is telling the barren woman to rejoice! The barren woman is a picture of someone who has not seen results, signs of health in her body or signs of abundance in her situation. Being barren is a picture of the curse. <br /><br />The Word says that God never meant for us to be barren. God blessed man and told him to be fruitful (Genesis 9:7). So in Isaiah 54, God is saying, “Sing now, and prepare for your blessing! Enlarge your tent and prepare for growth! Do not spare; expand your territory and your descendants will inherit the nations.” <br /><br />Imagine you are a barren woman singing, “Hallelujah! I’m a mother of many! The Lord loves me!” The devil will come and say to you, “A mother of many? Where is your child? Aren’t you a hypocrite?” But don’t stop rejoicing. God wants you to enjoy life before the problem is resolved. Start singing even before you see the manifestation. Stop postponing your joy and peace. Stop waiting for Christmas to celebrate. Make every day a celebration of life, and learn to rest in the midst of your problems. <br /><br />It should be a daily response to go to Jesus for our rest. Jesus Himself tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest. <br /><br />Matthew 11:28<br /> 28Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. <br /><br />Whenever you are heavy laden with worries or cares, weighed down by the yoke of the Law or religion, or in the midst of any enemy that is weighing you down, go to Jesus and you will find your rest in Him. Rejoice, sit down, and prop your feet up, because God has promised that He will take care of your enemies and make them your footstool!&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-81415310454352260902014-03-22T09:52:00.000+05:302014-03-22T09:52:40.887+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIegfsP02-LvS_kY8FOlfibJf-0IInb7QENYymEgGacPfzuz7fjHk4cl51mMpUmNxkYxHS1GnX65ADB4ISIGnnAS8ntL1q8oxj_Th2EPpSEMPm6mwTMm1nYl8Ifcran6TgyjvCVIa9Us/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIegfsP02-LvS_kY8FOlfibJf-0IInb7QENYymEgGacPfzuz7fjHk4cl51mMpUmNxkYxHS1GnX65ADB4ISIGnnAS8ntL1q8oxj_Th2EPpSEMPm6mwTMm1nYl8Ifcran6TgyjvCVIa9Us/s1600/Picture+2.png" height="80" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://jesusiworshipyou.altervista.org/blog/god-wants-you-to-draw-from-him-joseph-prince/" target="_blank">http://jesusiworshipyou.altervista.org/blog/god-wants-you-to-draw-from-him-joseph-prince/</a> and <a href="http://www.gracehope.com/community/?message=441353" target="_blank">http://www.gracehope.com/community/?message=441353</a><br /><br />Did you know that giving to you actually brings joy to God’s heart? When you place a demand on Him—like look to Him to heal you—you let Him be God. When you draw from His fullness—His abundance of life, health and blessing—you delight Him! <br /><br />When you come empty and draw from God, the One who has endless supply, you honor Him and let Him be God. You free Him to pour His abundant supply of health, wholeness and peace into your life! That’s why God wants you to come expectantly to Him for your healing and for every single one of your needs today. <br /><br />So see Him ready to pour His abundance out for you. See Him rejoicing when you call upon Him. Meditate on and see His heart of love that always wants to give to you. Receive from His fullness and see your healing and answer to every need manifest! <br /><br />Though Jesus was physically weary when He ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well, He invited her to draw from Him the living water that would never run dry. When she went away, full in her heart and rejoicing, He was strengthened, refreshed and rejuvenated! I want to encourage you to come empty and draw from God, the One who has endless supply. When you honor Him and let Him be God, you free Him to pour His abundant supply of health, wholeness and peace into your life!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Also watch: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNS-7t6UjoM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNS-7t6UjoM</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSjoYo4EGYU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSjoYo4EGYU</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-36839565999114838902014-03-15T12:28:00.001+05:302014-03-15T12:28:09.599+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUq6g9B0BrzjaOowarUQCV15LE4_xVCMOpF-jS9q77EkyPPOycVxKwkowMf3XKCAVb2f-_u51vLDkiB2iYJ08SnlEZj16nQTGvHBBU5zhrgAa13apXihH2t9p896vQw6J3UmR0WwN4S_I/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUq6g9B0BrzjaOowarUQCV15LE4_xVCMOpF-jS9q77EkyPPOycVxKwkowMf3XKCAVb2f-_u51vLDkiB2iYJ08SnlEZj16nQTGvHBBU5zhrgAa13apXihH2t9p896vQw6J3UmR0WwN4S_I/s1600/Picture+1.png" height="137" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Elevated at Transfiguration </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://paulwhiteministries.wordpress.com/category/transfiguration/" target="_blank">http://paulwhiteministries.wordpress.com/category/transfiguration/</a><br /> <br />Luke 9:28-37 <br /><br />Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain to pray and while there, He transformed from His physical form to His glorified nature. His countenance changed and His clothes glistened. We call this incident the Transfiguration because Jesus showed the disciples His glorified man, literally transforming before their very eyes. Paul used the same Greek phrase for transfigured (Matthew 17:2) in Romans 12:2 when he tells the Christian to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”. <br /><br />Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared with Jesus and began to speak of His coming death in Jerusalem. Ever wonder what heaven talks about? In this case, they were speaking of the finished work of Jesus, which was about to be accomplished on the cross. Heaven has always been about Jesus and His beauty and the redemption of mankind. <br /><br />The story of the Transfiguration gives us a remarkable look at the arrival of grace. Grace is not a doctrine; it is a person, and His name is Jesus! John said that “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), and Paul said to Titus that “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). A doctrine does not “appear”, but a man does. This shows us that when we speak of grace, we are speaking of Jesus. <br /><br />Moses speaks of the law, while Elijah is representative of the prophets. The Old Testament is full of the Law and the Prophets, while the New Testament is the ministry of Grace. On top of this mountain, the Law and the Prophets became witness to the Righteousness without the Law (Romans 3:21). When Peter expresses a desire to build 3 tabernacles; one for each person, the Lord speaks from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him” (Luke 9:35), and there was no one left on the mountain with them except Jesus (Mark 9:8). Peter was placing the value of the Law and the Prophets on equal footing with Grace, and God spoke emphatically that it was Jesus who was to be listened to; not Moses and Elijah. When we try to elevate the Law and the Prophets to the status of God’s Grace, the Law and the Prophets will vanish to relinquish all attention towards Jesus. <br /><br />What a command of God! Whatever Jesus says, that is what we are supposed to listen to. What is the first statement from Jesus’ mouth following the powerful voice of His Father? “Arise, and be not afraid” (Matthew 17:7). Rise up in who you are and do not fear. What a mandate for the believer today! <br /><br />Notice that when the Law was given on Mt. Sinai, the people ran away from Moses when he came down the mountain bearing the tables of stone (Exodus 20:18). When Jesus comes down the mountain after His transfiguration, the people run to meet Him (Luke 9:37). Where Law runs man away from the presence of the Lord, Grace runs man towards Him, for Law ministers death, while Grace always ministers life (2 Corinthians 3:7-11). <br /><br />The lesson for Peter, James and John was an awesome visual, but it was also wrapped up in their names. Peter means “stone”; James is “Jacob” in Hebrew meaning “supplanter”; John is “grace” in Greek. Put them back-to-back-to-back and you have, “The stone (Law) is replaced by grace”. Transfiguration taught it, and God said, “Listen to it!” Awesome!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Also read: <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/04/06/last-adams-greater-work/" target="_blank">http://escapetoreality.org/2012/04/06/last-adams-greater-work/</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-37768191009253766442014-03-04T07:38:00.000+05:302014-03-04T07:38:48.811+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm0NigvIsZ7UwEywmrE_ALnfujaReDVJRa9IFtSLC8gLuTpDKLNTT7B6EMC4bs6Ja82cjlTAdy4-y3RA2yqmj7Y9sPEbKdnZ64Tdud9F8euyu4p6bmki_Afbchr48r3b_DiACOzjs6gU/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm0NigvIsZ7UwEywmrE_ALnfujaReDVJRa9IFtSLC8gLuTpDKLNTT7B6EMC4bs6Ja82cjlTAdy4-y3RA2yqmj7Y9sPEbKdnZ64Tdud9F8euyu4p6bmki_Afbchr48r3b_DiACOzjs6gU/s1600/Picture+6.png" height="117" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/what_christian" target="_blank">http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/what_christian</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> What Is A Christian?<br /> By Andrew Wommack</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Rom. 1:18-20) <br /><br /> Ever since the fall of Adam, man has been trying to find a way back to God. There is a longing within every person to be back in the image that God created them in. There is a knowledge that there must be something more. The religions of the world are a testimony to this scripture, from the first chapter of Romans, that God has revealed Himself to His creation. But man has devised nearly as many different ways to approach back unto God as there have been people. <br /><br /> The difference between religion and Christianity is, basically, that religion is man's attempt to reach God, and Jesus is God reaching out to man. All the religions of the world fall short of obtaining salvation because they put the burden of salvation on man. They teach that through our adhering to a rigid standard of dos and don'ts, we make ourselves acceptable unto God. But God revealed in James 2:10 that if you keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point, you are guilty of all. This is where the religions of the world have missed it. They have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Man cannot save himself; he has to have a savior. <br /><br /> So God sent His Son Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh that we might come into right standing with God (Rom. 8:3-4). We are made acceptable to God through who Jesus is and what He did (Eph. 1:6). Jesus said of Himself that He was the only way unto the Father (John 14:6). Peter said in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." God is the only One who could provide salvation for man, through Jesus; and any other attempts to approach unto God, regardless of how sincere they may be, will end in total failure with the result of eternal death. <br /><br /> Most church-going people in America can accept all of this regarding other religions easily. But what many have failed to see is that much of what is called Christianity today is nothing but religion. By that, I mean that many people are going through the motions of Christianity thinking that their observance of Christian virtues will help them obtain salvation. But it is possible to be caught up in the trap of trying to be justified by your church attendance and financial receipts, just as much as the man who burns incense to idols to appease the gods. <br /><br /> Hebrews 5:9 says that Jesus is the author of eternal salvation, therefore His judgement is the only one that counts. Many people trust the fact that their names are on a church roll or that they have "IN GOD WE TRUST" written on their coins, but that's not the standard that Jesus used to administer salvation. <br /><br /> Let's look at an account of Jesus ministering salvation. In Mark 10:17-22, we see an example of a man who really desired to have eternal life. He was actively pursuing it, which is evidenced by the fact that he ran to Jesus and knelt down at His feet. If desire or good intentions could obtain salvation, he would have gotten it. But Jesus, the author of eternal life, didn't accept his conditions. Many people today don't believe that it is really important what you believe. It's just your intentions that count. But this example proves that to be wrong. <br /><br /> This man was seeking the right thing, and he even came to the right Person, but he did a number of things wrong. First, he only acknowledged Jesus as being a good master (verse 17). Jesus answered by saying, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." This rich young ruler was willing to acknowledge that Jesus was good, but he wouldn't go so far as to say He was God. Yet, one of the must crucial elements to salvation is believing that God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). <br /><br /> Every great leader of the different religions of the world has had to recognize the greatness of Jesus, but yet they have rejected His own claims to divinity. When Jesus was questioned by the chief priests, He admitted He was the Christ (Matt. 26:63-64). The chief priests and elders said that He had spoken blasphemy or ascribed divinity to Himself. Jesus had to be more than a good man to be a sacrifice for the whole human race. One man's life is only worth one man's life. But since Jesus was God, His life was worth more than all the people who had lived or ever will live on this earth. This young ruler made the mistake of recognizing Jesus as good, but not as God. <br /><br /> Second, he wanted to know what he could do to inherit eternal life. He was trying to reach God through his efforts, but he couldn't do enough good. He had sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Many so-called Christians today are doing the same thing. They think that their church attendance or Bible reading, etc., will atone for their sin, but only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse us of our sin. All our efforts fall short. You may live better than someone else, but who wants to be the best sinner who ever went to hell? You need a savior. <br /><br /> Jesus knew this man was incapable of saving himself. He didn't tell him to keep the Old Testament Law so that he could earn salvation. The Law wasn't given so we could keep it but rather to let us see that we have all sinned and need a savior (Rom. 3:19-20). Jesus ministered the Law to this man so that he would see his need and call out to Jesus for help. <br /><br /> The rich young ruler said he had observed all those commandments all his life. According to Romans 3:23, which we already quoted, that wasn't true. Jesus knew that, so He told him to go and sell all that he had, give the money to the poor, and then come and follow Him. This was to show that he had broken the very first commandment, which was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3). His money was his god, and he proved it because he chose to keep his money rather than obey the Lord. <br /><br /> The third thing he did wrong was that he didn't make Jesus his Lord (ruler and master). He was not willing to make a complete commitment of his life to the control of Jesus. Verse 20 says that Jesus loved him, but Jesus didn't change His standard. Unless a man is willing to make Jesus Lord of all, He can't be Lord at all (in that man's life). <br /><br /> God still hasn't changed His standard. Some churches today tell people just to do their best or join their church, etc., and they'll go to heaven, but that's not so. You have to recognize your complete dependence on Jesus only and make a surrender of your life to Him as Lord. As it says in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." <br /><br /> The commitment to Jesus as Lord of all has to be there. That doesn't mean that you can't ever fall short of that commitment. The Lord is full of mercy, and His love covers a multitude of sins (Prov. 10:12), but regardless of how well you fulfill it, you have to have made the commitment that Jesus is Lord of all. <br /><br /> I accepted the Lord when I was eight years old. I didn't know about healing and the baptism of the Holy Ghost then, so I certainly wasn't letting Jesus rule in those areas. But I truly committed my life totally to Jesus to the extent that I had knowledge, and as God revealed more truth to me, I yielded those areas too. I've balked temporarily at things He's shown me, but because I made Jesus Lord, He has always won out. Praise the Lord! <br /><br /> If you have never made Jesus the Lord of your life, just pray this simple prayer with me and mean it with all of your heart, and you shall be saved: <br /><br /> "Father, I recognize that I am totally dependent on You to save me. I accept Jesus' sacrifice as payment for my sins and make Him the Lord of my life. I believe that Jesus is alive from the dead and now living in me. I am saved! Praise God! I am saved!"&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-56488840152495208842014-03-04T07:16:00.000+05:302014-03-04T07:18:30.140+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKk0xhBhi0mx6moh1Ad6SwuWcsEPAOrYHkkpFol-oX4eX6hhBum_w267Rg3PHy1ziInTPWgnB315DrF7IuxGY-F5ut4paCNc3bxxOJFffaNY_s0Yt87C44Ps_AOT3ObxZvROC8DDu8eEQ/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKk0xhBhi0mx6moh1Ad6SwuWcsEPAOrYHkkpFol-oX4eX6hhBum_w267Rg3PHy1ziInTPWgnB315DrF7IuxGY-F5ut4paCNc3bxxOJFffaNY_s0Yt87C44Ps_AOT3ObxZvROC8DDu8eEQ/s1600/Picture+5.png" height="200" width="178" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.kcm.org/real-help/article/now-are-we-christ-jesus" target="_blank">http://www.kcm.org/real-help/article/now-are-we-christ-jesus</a><br /> <br /> Let This Mind Be in You <br /> by Kenneth Copeland</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> Philippians 2:5,6 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." You are to think the way Jesus thought. He didn't think it robbery to be equal with God. <br /> <br /> Then verse 8 says, "...he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." You have to humble yourself. No one else can humble you. You are to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and at the same time, keep in mind that you are a joint-heir with Jesus (I Peter 5:6; Romans 8:17).<br /> <br /> Kings and Priests <br /> <br /> According to Romans 8:29, Jesus is "the firstborn among many brethren." Glory to God! Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God. Revelation 1:5,6 describes Jesus as "the prince of the kings of this earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." You have been made a king and a priest unto God because of Jesus and the inheritance that He provided for you. <br /> <br /> From the Book of Acts to the Revelation of John, Jesus is known as the first begotten from the dead. If there is a firstborn, then there has to be a secondborn, a thirdborn, a fourthborn, etc. Every believer is counted as a child of God. We are members of God's family and heirs to all He has. <br /> <br /> Jesus has made you a king and a priest. He has made you the righteousness of God in Him. In Him, you are the accepted. In Him, you are the beloved. You are His chosen and His elect - a royal priesthood that has been bought with His blood and made His own child. <br /> <br /> I John 4:17 says, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." As He is, so are you in this world! Because you have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary and received Him as your Lord, you have the power and the authority to walk in the inheritance that He made available to you. But if you don't know what is yours and what belongs to you, you won't be able to enjoy the benefits of it. Find out what is included in your inheritance in Christ Jesus and then resist any influence that would try to convince you otherwise. <br /> <br /> Luke 12:31, 32 says, "But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." It is God's will to give you the kingdom, the whole kingdom! When the reality gets down in your heart that you are an heir of Almighty God, that He has given you the whole kingdom and has instructed you to seek first that kingdom, then all the benefits of your inheritance will be added unto you and you will grow and develop in God's Word. <br /> <br /> However, you will never receive any portion of your inheritance until you begin to acknowledge it. With your thoughts, your words, and your actions, you acknowledge the fact that you are in Christ Jesus, that you have received an inheritance, that you have the right to walk in all the blessings and promises of God's Word. Acknowledge the things of God and allow the assurance of them to enter into your heart. Then see them become a part of your life in every area. <br /> <br /> How have you been approaching God...on the level of a king or on the level of a beggar? Are you backing your way into the presence of God, hoping to get a handout? <br /> <br /> When you made Jesus your Lord, He made you able to stand in the presence of the Father God as a king and a priest, not as a beggar - as the righteousness of God in Christ, not as a sinner. You have been redeemed out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. You have been redeemed into kingship and priesthood. You are a king and a priest in Christ Jesus!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-25056614026406172722014-02-21T09:15:00.000+05:302014-02-21T09:16:59.556+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ-ntHaoX9ulFp8EVA6g4A-YTZDxeut1HJys5suI9TGcPoHU88UFbaBrZ6W1uoc4wmHQxn_aifiomzJ706R4NzHMAryVBWeNsrfQaGgDr5jJb6LULo0_E2wd-ZYIMChXoeDfCN-QEjSA/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ-ntHaoX9ulFp8EVA6g4A-YTZDxeut1HJys5suI9TGcPoHU88UFbaBrZ6W1uoc4wmHQxn_aifiomzJ706R4NzHMAryVBWeNsrfQaGgDr5jJb6LULo0_E2wd-ZYIMChXoeDfCN-QEjSA/s1600/Picture+5.png" height="200" width="156" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> <br /> You are perfect in God's eyes! By Joseph Prince <br /> Hebrews 10:12,14 (Taken from: <a href="http://puregracegospel.blogspot.in/2013/04/you-are-perfect-in-gods-eyes-by-joseph.html" target="_blank">http://puregracegospel.blogspot.in/2013/04/you-are-perfect-in-gods-eyes-by-joseph.html</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> 12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God...14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. <br /> <br /> God sees you with no flaw, spot or imperfection, so honor His Word and the finished work of His Son by saying, "Amen!" Don't doubt your perfection in Christ. <br /> <br /> To see yourself as far from being perfect is not modesty, but a failure to understand the perfect sacrifice that Jesus has made for you. <br /> <br /> The Bible tells us, "For by one offering He hath perfect forever them that are sanctified." Did you get that? You have not only been sanctified, that is, made holy, but by the same offering of His body, you have been perfected. You are both holy and perfect in God's eyes! <br /> <br /> Your sins have been purged perfectly. Today, Jesus is seated at His Father's right hand not because He is the Son of God (although that is true), but because His work of purging your sins is completely finished and perfect! <br /> <br /> So instead of being conscious of your sins, which is to have an evil conscience (v. 22), you can have a perfect conscience, a conscience that is free from the guilt and condemnation of sins. <br /> <br /> When you find yourself conscious of your sins, just say, "Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your wonderful work at the cross. It is a perfect work that has removed all my sins completely. <br /> <br /> "Holy Spirit, thank You for convicting me of righteousness, not my own, but God's righteousness given to me as a gift. Keep on convicting me in the days to come, reminding me especially when I fail that I am still the righteousness of God in Christ." <br /> <br /> My friend, God sees you perfect without any spot of sin. He sees you covered in the beautiful white robes of His own righteousness. He treats you like a righteous person because that is what He has made you. So expect good things to happen to you because blessings are on the head of the righteous! (Proverbs 10:6.)<br /> <br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-77465972635232749192014-02-21T09:09:00.000+05:302014-02-21T09:09:05.327+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEy8LMPJYPV6u4vDy1aJnYVKj1Sa4MwJ7puiTab2yfWQYrRNxl0LANtEWyT6yV_906Unr07U74kAqDcfqqaZVl4QXADB6T39irUDg7agQxLw45UQoEMOoMFW0h7rrVOtDymF36dstsA4/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEy8LMPJYPV6u4vDy1aJnYVKj1Sa4MwJ7puiTab2yfWQYrRNxl0LANtEWyT6yV_906Unr07U74kAqDcfqqaZVl4QXADB6T39irUDg7agQxLw45UQoEMOoMFW0h7rrVOtDymF36dstsA4/s1600/Picture+4.png" height="145" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> SIN CANNOT STOP GOD’S GRACE! By Joseph Prince&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> (Taken from: <a href="http://amarylisblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/sin-cannot-stop-gods-grace-by-joseph-prince/" target="_blank">http://amarylisblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/sin-cannot-stop-gods-grace-by-joseph-prince/</a>)<br /><br />ROMANS 5:20<br /> Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,<br /> When a top executive is charged for corruption or a church minister is caught in the very act of adultery, you will probably hear the phrase “fallen from grace” being used of them. We have come to believe that when someone falls into sin, he falls from grace. <br /><br />But God wants us to know that when someone falls into sin, he does not fall from grace—he actually falls into grace! Thank God His grace is there to put the person back on his feet. <br /><br />The Bible tells of prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors—sinners—who fell into God’s grace and got back on their feet. If the sin in their lives could stop God’s grace, they would never have been able to receive His grace of healing, help and power to live right. <br /><br />Now, it is important you understand that God hates sin because it destroys our lives, relationships and bodies. Sin is evil! But sin is not overcome by us talking about it and relying on our willpower to overcome it. It takes God’s grace to destroy sin. In fact, it is when you are under His grace that sin has no dominion over you. (Romans 6:14) It is when you see His grace in providing His Son to put away your sins and make you eternally righteous that sin will not dominate you. <br /><br />The devil will say to you, “You think that you can still expect God’s blessings after what you did this morning?” That is when you must remind yourself that Christ alone is your perfection and righteousness. All of us have faults. None of us deserve God’s blessings. That is why we plead the grace of God, which is His unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor toward us. <br /><br />Sin does not and cannot stop God’s grace. If His grace can be cut off by sin, Jesus would never have come to save us because we were all terrible sinners. But praise God, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”! <br /><br />My friend, God’s grace is bigger, deeper, wider and more powerful than all the world’s sins put together. Receive His grace right now to walk in total victory over that weakness or evil habit in your life!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-27870280556100231532014-02-21T08:52:00.001+05:302014-02-21T08:52:42.684+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> How To Overcome Doubt by Andrew Wommack (Taken from: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/overcome_doubt" target="_blank">http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/overcome_doubt</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> No one is immune to doubt. It can and does happen to us all. You've just got to know how to handle it when it comes. Even the greatest men and women of God recorded in the Bible had to deal with doubt. Jesus said of John the Baptist, <br /><br />"Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11). <br /><br />That means John was greater in the sight of Jesus than Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, or any Old Testament character you can name. Yet John doubted the most important thing of all by questioning whether Jesus was really the Christ. <br /><br />John the Baptist had been cast into prison for criticizing Herod about marrying his brother’s wife, an incestuous relationship. He had been there sometime between six months and two years and became so discouraged that he asked two of his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him if He really was the Christ. It's easy to read that and not think much about it, but the truth is, it was nothing but unbelief on the part of John the Baptist. <br /><br />Think about who John was. He was separated unto God and filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still in the womb. Even Jesus wasn't filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. It is believed he lived in the desert near the Dead Sea with the Essens, the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were a people who were super-legalistic who dogmatically practiced many rituals of self denial. He certainly had not lived what we would call an easy life. John was separated and focused on his purpose. <br /><br />His entire life was committed to preparing the way for the Christ. He spent thirty years preparing for a ministry that would only last six short months. John is the one who saw Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"(John 1:29). The anointing on his life had to be exceptionally powerful because his ministry defied logic. Thousands of people from many nations came to the middle of nowhere to hear this man preach, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And God had revealed to him that through a visible sign from heaven he would know who the Christ was. He would see the Spirit of God descending upon the Messiah in bodily shape as a dove. That came to pass when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. <br /><br />At that time, John was absolutely certain that Jesus was the Christ. He had zero doubt. He was so adamant about it that he said <br /><br />"I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God" in John 1:34. In Luke 3:16 he said, "One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose." And in John 3:30 he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." <br /><br />However, after being imprisoned for a period of time, he began to doubt. This says a number of things, but an important one is the fact that anyone can doubt. How did Jesus respond to John's doubt? Well, He certainly didn't respond the way most of us do. He told John's disciples to go back and tell him of the miracles they had witnessed and that John would be blessed if he would just believe. That's it. Jesus didn't try and make John feel better by letting him know He understood his pain or by making a few complimentary comments. Jesus reserved those comments till after John's disciples left (Luke 7:24-28). <br /><br />This puzzled me for many years. Why didn't Jesus say these things about John the Baptist in the hearing of John's disciples so they could have brought him that word? It seemed to me like that would have helped John more than just telling him to look at the miracles, and he'll be blessed if he believes. <br /><br />Years after I first had these questions, I was reading from Isaiah 35 and came across the passage that says, <br /><br />"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Is. 35:5-6). <br /><br />It suddenly struck me that this was exactly the answer that Jesus gave to John's messengers. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11:4-6: <br /><br />"Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." <br /><br />Jesus performed all the miracles Isaiah prophesied He would do, and threw in the healing of a leper and raising someone from the dead just for good measure. What Jesus did was He perfectly fulfilled the prophecy about Himself, and then referred John the Baptist back to that word. Jesus reminded John of the scriptures, to deal with his doubts. That's Jesus' method of dealing with our doubts. <br /><br />Many of us have Bibles lying around gathering dust. Some of us even carry one. But when we're struggling with unbelief, we don't want a scripture; we want something tangible, something emotional that we can feel. We would rather have Jesus just put His arm around us and say something about how everything will be all right. That would make us feel better. But overcoming doubt isn't just about feeling better; it's about getting back into faith that only comes from the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). <br /><br />Jesus sent the Word back with John's disciples. He knew this would stir up John's spirit to overcome the doubt. Peter understood this about faith when he wrote about it in 2 Peter 1:12-15, which says, <br /><br />"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." <br /><br />Peter was stating how important it was for his words to be received, as they were, in truth, the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13). To prove to them that these were not just fables he made up, Peter refers to the time they were with Jesus on the mountain. They saw Jesus shine as the brightness of the sun. The Shekinah glory cloud of God overshadowed them all, and they heard an audible voice out of heaven say, "This is my beloved Son: hear him" (Mark 9:7). They also saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. That is pretty impressive! <br /><br />But Peter went on to say in 2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy." What could possibly be more sure than all these supernatural signs? Peter gives that answer in the next verse when he talks about the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20). The Scriptures are more sure and more faith building and doubt destroying than seeing Jesus transfigured or hearing an audible voice from heaven. Hallelujah! <br /><br />The only sure way to overcome doubt is to place your faith in the Word of God and depend on that more sure word of prophecy. Don't allow your five senses to dominate your thinking. You must come to a place to where God's Word is more real to you than anything you can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. When you're in doubt, refer back to the Word of God just the way Jesus told John the Baptist to do. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. <br /><br />There are only two times recorded in the Bible when Jesus marveled at anything. Once He marveled at the people's great unbelief (Mark 6:6), and in Matthew 8:10 He marveled at a Gentile soldier's great faith. A faith that made Jesus marvel is worth examining. What was different about it? The number one difference was what the centurion said, <br /><br />"But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." (Matt. 8:8-9) <br /><br />The centurion had a faith that was in God's Word alone. He didn't have to have Jesus come to his house and wave His hand over the sick servant. If Jesus would just give him a word, that was all he needed. <br /><br />Contrast this centurion's faith with the little faith of Thomas, who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples. The first time the risen Christ appeared to His disciples, Thomas wasn't present. The other ten disciples told Thomas that Jesus was resurrected, but it was eight more days before Jesus appeared to His disciples with Thomas present. <br /><br />"But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25) <br /><br />Jesus walked up to Thomas and told him to put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into Jesus' side and to not be faithless but believing. Thomas fell on his knees and confessed Jesus as his Lord and God. <br /><br />"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) <br /><br />Jesus placed a greater blessing on those who believe without seeing than those who believe because they have seen. In other words, there is a greater anointing on believing the Word than believing signs and wonders. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in signs and wonders. Jesus used them like a bell to draw people unto Himself and so should we. But the ultimate, the more sure word of prophecy, is the written Word of God. There is a greater blessing on just believing God's Word than there is on believing because of supernatural circumstances. Those who are looking for circumstances to confirm their faith will fail when the strong battles of unbelief come. We have to get our faith so rooted in God's Word alone that we can withstand a hurricane. <br /><br />The reason Jesus didn't try to make John feel better with a few kind words, an emotional touch, was not because He didn't care. He cared for John so much that He gave John His best — the written Word of God. That's how Jesus dealt with own His temptations (Matt. 4), and that was and still is God's best way for us to deal with our temptations to not believe. <br /><br />Maybe there's a reason the Lord hasn't used an emotional touch to deliver you from unbelief. Maybe it's because He loves you so much that He's trying to help you operate in the highest form of faith — faith that takes Him at His Word. If the least of the saints today are greater than John the Baptist was then (Matt. 11:11), surely the Lord is wanting us to operate on at least the same level in which He dealt with John's unbelief.&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-12331420854164344662014-02-21T08:09:00.002+05:302014-02-21T08:09:45.484+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> <br /> <br /> Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIiCFZstYTs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIiCFZstYTs</a><br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fIiCFZstYTs" width="560"></iframe> <br /> <br /> Join Krish Fernandez (<a href="http://www.krishfernandez.com/" target="_blank">http://www.krishfernandez.com/</a>) as he teaches on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues at Jesus Calls, Dahisar.<br /> *These are highlights of an 1 hour message.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8lap03xI5ppskDxWITWt1MExCyIlKGjQfDd8NvalFdYmyvGje3Q8NDnOISnANmWfZEMZ5S1PREdFRYLTZV0GEEI16RfVgSR9Yd_wFhluDs4NIbMh23_srvdK9JiXKboalnITUaFzBS9S/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8lap03xI5ppskDxWITWt1MExCyIlKGjQfDd8NvalFdYmyvGje3Q8NDnOISnANmWfZEMZ5S1PREdFRYLTZV0GEEI16RfVgSR9Yd_wFhluDs4NIbMh23_srvdK9JiXKboalnITUaFzBS9S/s1600/Picture+3.png" height="198" width="320" /></a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-80163845275305690092014-02-03T10:16:00.002+05:302014-02-03T10:16:49.430+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> A Light in the Midst of Darkness </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> by Creflo Dollar (Taken from: <a href="http://change.creflodollarministries.org/site/1002/alightinthemidstofdarkness.aspx" target="_blank">http://change.creflodollarministries.org/site/1002/alightinthemidstofdarkness.aspx</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWcGnoCy4pe45wZQxOBDv310YNVLe41uMVhepG0nCw1D-9ZMHejm9HKfNcFjFj65o2PQ5q11yx_qouh_TODKRWyqmZXUHK2KWg0UjLJr82LDMY1g3bE_mYLnq0ckIt_eMwblS5v1yJnM/s1600/url.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWcGnoCy4pe45wZQxOBDv310YNVLe41uMVhepG0nCw1D-9ZMHejm9HKfNcFjFj65o2PQ5q11yx_qouh_TODKRWyqmZXUHK2KWg0UjLJr82LDMY1g3bE_mYLnq0ckIt_eMwblS5v1yJnM/s1600/url.jpeg" height="150" width="200" /></a>You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. <br /><br />—Jesus, Matthew 5:14-16 (The Amplified Bible) <br /><br />Whether you are in a school or job setting, let me assure you, unbelievers are reading you like a book. Understand that people who do not know your God will probably not pick up the Bible and read it. But they will study your life, even from afar. You may not know who they are or what they do, but they notice you. And my prayer is that what they see in you will ignite within them a desire to enter a personal relationship with God. <br /><br />This is why it is vitally important that we live the life of victory God has planned for His people. There is a reason why He blesses us. God wants us to find a way to do good things for others. He is looking for true Christians who can be a light in this dark world. <br /> As a Christian, you may find that God often leads you into settings with many non-Christians. At times, you may look around and discover that you are the only Believer in certain places. Instead of becoming offended by everything that is going on around you, ask the Lord: is there something you want me to do here? Many times, God wants to use you to be a witness to people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. <br /><br />God wants His people to operate by His power and love on a day-to-day basis (John 13:35). In the grocery stores, malls, salons, barber shops, restaurants, on our jobs, etc., our lives should stand out, like a flashlight in a dark room. People everywhere should see Christians as loving, extraordinary people who change their immediate environment. <br /><br />Our lives should exemplify that of a conqueror who constantly wins with tenacity and courage. This is why God wants us to meditate on His Word day and night. Then we are able to do what He says, and therefore, deal wisely in the world, making our way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). His Word is the origin of our prosperity. It is the origin of our financial stability, our healed bodies, our blessed families, and our overall success in life. As we live successful lives, we must always be mindful of who our source is. God blesses us to live successful lives so that we are empowered to bless others (Deuteronomy 8:18). When we let our lights shine, we prove to the world (or society) that there is a God, and He is good! More importantly, as people of integrity, excellence, and success, we serve as a part of His big, soul-winning plan! Let your light shine brightly for all to see.&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-11545649334931664382014-02-03T09:59:00.000+05:302014-02-03T09:59:01.937+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DyCIeQmRqvTQw-LgnYrwRII52zaEKlXrCYhQYMsA5ZKa8I9KEX4sNFjjeDL2U8QN89gyl4FMf-L3C-0vUi7Rhev9Ol0WLVY3Ng_dIXXgg7Un0W_prSBj4aNjq9fD_rMFq8MXrJeKUYc/s1600/limthelaw.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DyCIeQmRqvTQw-LgnYrwRII52zaEKlXrCYhQYMsA5ZKa8I9KEX4sNFjjeDL2U8QN89gyl4FMf-L3C-0vUi7Rhev9Ol0WLVY3Ng_dIXXgg7Un0W_prSBj4aNjq9fD_rMFq8MXrJeKUYc/s1600/limthelaw.png" height="90" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Greatest Law Preacher&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> January 14, 2012 (Taken from: <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/01/14/the-greatest-law-preacher/" target="_blank">http://escapetoreality.org/2012/01/14/the-greatest-law-preacher/</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “Don’t stray too far from the red letters,” is a piece of advice often given to new preachers. It means, stay close to the teachings of Jesus and you can’t go wrong. It sounds good, but it’s actually bad advice. Everything Jesus said was good and wonderful, but not everything He said was meant for you. Read the red letters of your Bible and you will find both stories of unprecedented grace and merciless declarations of law. Mix these messages and you will end up confused and double-minded. The solution is not to balance law and grace – you can’t – but to filter everything you read through the finished work of the cross. To make sense of what Jesus said, you need to understand <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/good-news/" target="_blank">what Jesus did and why</a>. <br /><br />Jesus lived under law <br /><br />Jesus lived at the crossroads of two covenants. As humanity’s representative He came to fulfill the old law-keeping covenant in order that we might relate to God through a new and better covenant forged in His blood. Since the new covenant could not begin before He died, Jesus lived all of His pre-cross life under the old covenant of the law: <br /><br />But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Gal 4:4-5) <br /><br />Jesus was born under law, circumcised by law, and presented in the temple according to the law. Every Jewish person that Jesus met was also born under law. We need to keep this in mind when we read the red letters of Jesus. <br /><br />What law did Jesus preach? <br /><br />To those under the law, Jesus preached the pure and unadulterated Law of Moses. When religious people came to trap him with theological puzzles, Jesus would respond with, “What did Moses command you?” (Mk 10:3). If someone asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the law,” Jesus would provide an answer from the law (Mt 22:36). In His law-keeping ministry, Jesus honored the Law of Moses: <br /><br />The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. (Mt 23:2-3) <br /><br />Since the law-teachers often made Jesus angry, we might conclude that Jesus was opposed to the law. He was not. Jesus had no problem with what the Pharisees were preaching. “Do everything they tell you.” What really burnt His toast was their hypocrisy – they weren’t practicing what they preached: <br /><br />Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. (Joh 7:19) <br /><br />Why did Jesus preach the law?&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gqp7b4LuhzV3kac-UH0rZh_-FmRYQ6jbc64zjses2hbd7W3xK2MRXIryHcnFlrULdJdaIEC3n8xcnJowUcADWx1ArDWKsC0BtKhh7diUoN9pP-zHyhp4bI-EOuuLMcuuo6XrUiYwE0U/s1600/url.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gqp7b4LuhzV3kac-UH0rZh_-FmRYQ6jbc64zjses2hbd7W3xK2MRXIryHcnFlrULdJdaIEC3n8xcnJowUcADWx1ArDWKsC0BtKhh7diUoN9pP-zHyhp4bI-EOuuLMcuuo6XrUiYwE0U/s1600/url.png" height="150" width="200" /></a>Like every grace preacher, Jesus esteemed the law and the purpose for which it was given. The law was given to silence every mouth and hold the whole world accountable (Rms 3:19). The purpose of the law is to make us conscious of sin and reveal our need for a Savior. <br /><br />Since Sinai, the Jews had had fourteen centuries to learn what the law would teach them – that the flesh is incapable of dealing with sin. However, the law-teachers and Pharisees had ring-fenced the Law of Moses with their traditions and interpretations. By honoring their traditions ahead of the law, they diluted the law and removed the key to knowledge. As a result, the menace of sin was not fully recognized and the self-righteous weren’t silenced. <br /><br />If the law had been allowed to do its proper work, the Jews would have been primed and ready for a Savior. Every one of them would have had an experience like the one Paul describes in Romans 7. “Nothing good lives in me. Oh wretched man that I am!” Live under the condemning ministry of the law and you will inevitably come to this question: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” If the law-teachers and prophets had done their job, then the entire nation of Israel would have gathered outside that stable in Bethlehem in eager expectation. “He’s here! The Savior has come!” they would have said. “The One who will deliver us from the curse of the law and reconcile us to God has been born. Glory to God in the highest!” <br /><br />Sadly, it didn’t happen. Since the law-teachers had been negligent, Jesus had to do their job before He could do His own. Before He could save the world from sin, He had to preach the law that made sin utterly sinful. Before He give Himself as the answer, He had to make sure we were asking the right question. Who will deliver us? <br /><br />So Jesus became the greatest law preacher of all time. As the prophet Isaiah had foretold, He made the law magnificent. He lifted up what others had knocked down and raised the standard to glorious levels of perfection. Never again would mankind be without excuse. You want to know what God expects? Just read the Sermon on the Mount. In it Jesus says that God demands perfection and nothing less. <br /><br />How did Jesus preach the law? <br /><br />Preaching the red letters of Jesus is a bit like drinking whatever you find in the laundry. If you’re not paying attention – if you fail to distinguish His life-giving words of grace from His death-dealing words of law – then you could really do some damage. Don’t believe me? Then consider these red letters: <br /><br />If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Mat 6:14-15) <br /><br />This is one of the most-quoted passages in the Bible and it is vintage law. It is a killer scripture. It is not good news. This verse should make us shudder for it says that our forgiveness hinges on our ability to forgive others and we are poor forgivers indeed. Men sin against us repeatedly. Have we honestly forgiven them all? What if we miss one? And what do we say to those who have been raped and abused? What do you say to a young child who has been molested? “Sweetie, you need to forgive that evil man otherwise God won’t forgive you.” That’s not grace. That’s the condemning ministry of the law in full bloom. How do you forgive the unforgiveable? You can’t! Then you’re in trouble. The law condemns you as an unforgiver. Now you’re beginning to recognize your need for grace and this is a good thing. <br /><br />Any time you read a conditional statement from Jesus, you should interpret it as law. “Do not judge and you will not be judged” (Lk 6:37). That’s good advice but it’s also law. To avoid something (judgment) you have to do something (don’t judge). It’s a blessing you have to pay for. And anytime Jesus makes a threat, you should interpret that as law as well. “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Mt 5:22). That’s bad news for anyone with a brother! <br /><br />The law is not for you <br /><br />Jesus came to reveal grace but those who are confident of their own righteousness are incapable of receiving it. They don’t see their need. What they need is the law and Jesus gave it to them in spades. But Jesus’ larger purpose was to give us His life and His righteousness. So He also told stories about God justifying sinners and shepherds finding lost sheep. Then He went to the cross fulfilling the law on our behalf that He might be the end of the law for all who believe (Rom 10:4). <br /><br />Jesus’ came to set the captives free and give sight to the blind. The law sets nobody free. But the law does reveal your need for a Great Deliverer.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-77369412842685992582014-01-26T10:28:00.001+05:302014-01-26T10:28:35.895+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUBjjK8BF4_6GpY5kBCnbP8xFL7_QdQob8oIF23417arHTpreyG1erds2bnnew8l5OHJMkpmvPqbs812baTAlm28HLlcqtVFGzM19TEfanmd3yu0cbOICr53fnBCOv5A_CcLoswazoFE/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUBjjK8BF4_6GpY5kBCnbP8xFL7_QdQob8oIF23417arHTpreyG1erds2bnnew8l5OHJMkpmvPqbs812baTAlm28HLlcqtVFGzM19TEfanmd3yu0cbOICr53fnBCOv5A_CcLoswazoFE/s1600/Picture+1.png" height="107" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.gospelweb.net/MESpurgeon/MESpur0616.htm" target="_blank">http://www.gospelweb.net/MESpurgeon/MESpur0616.htm </a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" —</b> Psalm 27:1 <br /><br />"The Lord is my light and my salvation." Here is personal interest, "my light," "my salvation"; the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. After conversion our God is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light: He is light within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to be revealed to us. <br /><br />Note, it is not said merely that the Lord gives light, but that He is light; nor that He gives salvation, but that He is salvation; he, then, who by faith has laid hold upon God, has all covenant blessings in his possession. This being made sure as a fact, the argument drawn from it is put in the form of a question, "Whom shall I fear?" A question which is its own answer. The powers of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord, our light, destroys them; and the damnation of hell is not to be dreaded by us, for the Lord is our salvation. This is a very different challenge from that of boastful Goliath, for it rests, not upon the conceited vigour of an arm of flesh, but upon the real power of the omnipotent I AM. <br /><br />"The Lord is the strength of my life." Here is a third glowing epithet, to show that the writer's hope was fastened with a threefold cord which could not be broken. We may well accumulate terms of praise where the Lord lavishes deeds of grace. Our life derives all its strength from God; and if He deigns to make us strong, we cannot be weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. "Of whom shall I be afraid?" The bold question looks into the future as well as the present. "If God be for us," who can be against us, either now or in time to come?<br /><br /><b>"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."</b> — John 10:28 <br /><br />The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of God to mistrust His love, His truth, His faithfulness, must be greatly displeasing to Him. How can we ever grieve Him by doubting His upholding grace? Christian! it is contrary to every promise of God's precious Word that thou shouldst ever be forgotten or left to perish. If it could be so, how could He be true who has said, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I never forget thee." What were the value of that promise — "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." <br /><br />Where were the truth of Christ's words — "I give unto My sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." Where were the doctrines of grace? They would be all disproved if one child of God should perish. Where were the veracity of God, His honour, His power, His grace, His covenant, His oath, if any of those for whom Christ has died, and who have put their trust in Him, should nevertheless be cast away? Banish those unbelieving fears which so dishonour God. Arise, shake thyself from the dust, and put on thy beautiful garments. Remember it is sinful to doubt His Word wherein He has promised thee that thou shalt never perish. Let the eternal life within thee express itself in confident rejoicing. <br /><br />"The gospel bears my spirit up:<br /> A faithful and unchanging God</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> </div> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-26381109140418074382014-01-14T20:15:00.000+05:302014-01-14T20:16:44.594+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMf5REKO-DRsdWyTYwiNk-WZZ8RT8Kh5mYeHZ7M_9E5m_G_FgYb-wGxT5itP-hGHChsRxBc6UF_ZhJRu9sJgyJ29x8xTyvWVvzQyDZEsFAUykEx-48pFlXQieMtY-3LyudoZ3PR-E8LM/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMf5REKO-DRsdWyTYwiNk-WZZ8RT8Kh5mYeHZ7M_9E5m_G_FgYb-wGxT5itP-hGHChsRxBc6UF_ZhJRu9sJgyJ29x8xTyvWVvzQyDZEsFAUykEx-48pFlXQieMtY-3LyudoZ3PR-E8LM/s200/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> How Important Is Speaking in Tongues?&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> By Kenneth E. Hagin&nbsp; (Taken from: <a href="http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=1050:how-important-is-speaking-in-tongues&amp;Itemid=145" target="_blank">http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=1050:how-important-is-speaking-in-tongues&amp;Itemid=145</a>)<br /> <br /> There is more to being filled with the Holy Ghost than speaking in tongues, but tongues are an important and inte­gral part of receiving the Holy Ghost, since they are the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4). Also, speaking in tongues is an integral part of the believer’s devo­tional prayer life, for as the Apostle Paul said, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues . . .” (1 Cor. 14:18). I, too, can say with Paul, “I thank my God I speak with tongues.” <br /> <br /> In the Church world today, many people say, “Tongues have been done away with, because the Bible says that tongues will cease.” The Bible does say that one day, tongues will cease (see First Corinthians 13:8–12), but that is not referring to this present Church Age. In Heaven, there will be no necessity for tongues, because that which is perfect will have come (1 Cor. 13:10). <br /> <br /> There are those who purport to believe in speak­ing in tongues but do not feel that tongues are neces­sary for all believers. It’s important to understand that there is a difference between the gift of tongues that accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which every believer can receive, and the gift of tongues that is a ministry gift. (For a more detailed teaching on this subject, please read my study guide entitled, The Holy Spirit and His Gifts Study Guide.) <br /> <br /> In this article, we are talking about the gift of tongues given for every believer. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all those who believe (Acts 2:38–39); therefore, speaking in tongues as an evidence of the Spirit’s infilling is also for all those who believe. <br /> <br /> Many have been robbed of the blessings God intended them to have by believing that speaking in tongues isn’t for everyone. But the Word shows us that every believer needs to be filled with the Holy Ghost. And the Word says that when we get filled with the Holy Ghost, we will speak with tongues (Acts 2:4). <br /> <br /> However, speaking with tongues does not occur as just one initial experience of being filled with the Holy Ghost, and then it ceases. Speaking with tongues is a continual experience for the rest of one’s life. <br /> <br /> Notice that in writing to the Church at Corinth, Paul very definitely encouraged the Corinthian Christians to follow the practice of speaking with tongues in their own private prayer lives. And he gave a number of reasons for it. <br /> <br /> Devotional Use—Speaking Divine Secrets <br /> <br /> There is the devotional use of tongues. First Corinthians 14:2 says, “For he who speaks in a ‘tongue’ addresses God, not man; no one understands him; he is talking of divine secrets in the Spirit” (Moffatt). Here, Paul is talking about the individual Spirit-filled believer employing the use of tongues in his prayer life. Through speaking in tongues, you can pray out the plan of God for your life by the power of the Holy Spirit. <br /> <br /> Spiritual Edification <br /> <br /> Tongues are also used as a means of spiritual edi­fication. The Bible says, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifteth himself . . .” (1 Cor. 14:4). The word “edifieth” means to build up. Further down in the chapter, The Amplified Bible reads, “My spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unpro­ductive . . .” (1 Cor. 14:14). So praying in tongues is not for mental edification, but for spiritual edification. <br /> <br /> Worshipping God <br /> <br /> For the believer who is filled with the Holy Ghost, his tongues are given to him to use constantly in his worship and devotion to God. The Bible says in Acts 10:46 concerning Cor­nelius and his household when they began to speak with tongues, “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. . . .” Speaking with tongues is a supernatural way to magnify God. <br /> <br /> Doorway to the Supernatural <br /> <br /> Speaking with tongues is the doorway into all the other spiritual gifts. Some people want to experience all the gifts of the Spirit at once, but you have to go through the door to get into the supernatural. Also, it is as the Spirit of God wills, not as we will (1 Cor. 12:11). In other words, you can’t force or “put on” a manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. <br /> <br /> The Bible teaches us to desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1). The Bible also teaches us to earnestly covet the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). But remember that those words were written to people who already spoke in tongues. They weren’t written to people who did not speak with tongues. <br /> <br /> I have found in my own life over a period of more than 60 years that the more I speak in tongues—the more I pray and worship God in tongues—the more manifestation of the other gifts of the Spirit I have in my life too. And the less I speak in tongues, the less manifestation of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit I have operat­ing in my life. <br /> <br /> The Holy Spirit knows what is coming in the future, and I am thoroughly convinced that if we will be sensitive and responsive to Him, He will show us things to come (John 16:13). He will equip each of us for what lies ahead in life, if we will yield to Him. Praying and speaking with tongues is one way to do that; it is one way to be built up spiritually in order to prepare and be ready for whatever may come in the future.<br /> <br /> God has given each of us a supernatural means of edifying ourselves, or building ourselves up, spiritually. God has given to us a supernatural means of communicating with and worshipping Him. Are you as a Spirit-filled believer taking full advantage of the gift of tongues?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-34070117855448893312014-01-14T19:51:00.000+05:302014-01-14T19:51:26.840+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> 10 Reasons for Speaking in Tongues by Bill Hamon (Taken from: <a href="http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/supernatural/17419-10-reasons-for-speaking-in-tongues">http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/supernatural/17419-10-reasons-for-speaking-in-tongues</a>)<br /><br />Most Christians—charismatics included—don’t understand the true benefits of speaking in tongues, nor why this gift is so valuable. Here are 10 reasons to prove why we need this wonderful gift. <br /><br />1. The manifestation that came with the gift of the Holy Spirit was speaking in tongues. It wasn’t the wind, fire, noise or feeling of God’s presence that was evidence of the gift being received but a spirit language—believers began speaking languages of the Spirit they didn’t understand. It was God’s plan for the gift to function as a spirit language for His children (Acts 2:4, 11; 1 Cor. 14:2). <br /><br />2. Jesus commanded us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus commissioned the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father, He didn’t say, “Do this if you feel led to do so, or if it fits in your doctrinal or denominational beliefs, or if you have the time, or if you are so inclined, or if you feel comfortable about it.” No! Jesus commanded them to wait until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus put such importance on their receiving this gift, that’s more than enough reason for every Christian to seek God until they receive it too (Acts 1:4; 5:32; John 14:16-17; Eph. 5:18). <br /><br />3. The Scriptures exhort us to be filled with the Spirit and to pray in the new tongues of our spirit language. Our spirit language enables us to live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, be led of the Spirit, have the fruit of the Spirit, manifest the gifts of the Spirit and go from glory to glory until we are transformed into His same image (Gal. 5:22-25; Rom. 8:14; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; 14:15; Eph. 5:18; Acts 19:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). <br /><br />4. A spirit language is the greatest gift the Holy Spirit can give a believer. Jesus is the greatest gift God could give for the redemption of the world, and the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift Jesus could give to His church. Of all the resources in heaven and the eternal universe, nothing is more valuable, beneficial or important for the Holy Spirit to give the individual child of God than her own spirit language (1 Cor. 12:31; 14:4). <br /><br />5. Our spirit language enables us to have spirit-to-Spirit communication with God. Humans are spirit beings clothed with flesh-and-bone bodies. While man’s sin deadened the spirit, Jesus brings the spirit back to life by imparting His everlasting life into us. The Holy Spirit gives us a spirit language so we can communicate directly with God (John 4:24; 1 Cor. 15:45; Gen. 2:7; Rom. 5:12; John 3:3-5, 16). <br /><br />6. Praying in tongues builds and increases our faith. Faith is the medium of exchange for all heavenly things, just as money is the medium of exchange for all earthly things. A major way to increase our faith is to pray in the tongues of our spirit language (Rom. 12:6; Jude 1:20; Mark 9:23; Matt. 9:29). <br /><br />7. Praying in tongues activates the fruit of the Spirit. It’s vital and beneficial to have each of the spiritual attributes become active and mature in us. Praying in tongues helps us fulfill God’s predestined purpose for us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Rom. 8:29). <br /><br />8. Praying in our spirit language is the main way we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray without ceasing.” Christians can pray in tongues at any time. If we are in a place where it isn’t convenient or wise to speak out loud in tongues, we can pray with our inner man without making an audible sound (Eph. 6:18; 1 Thess. 5:17; Matt. 26:41; Luke 18:1; 21:36; 1 Cor. 14:15). <br /><br />9. The Holy Spirit directs our spirit language to pray in accordance with the will of God. Probably the only time we can be assured that we are praying 100 percent in the will of God is when we are praying in our spirit language. God always answers requests that are made in alignment with His will (Rom. 8:27; 1 John 5:14-15). <br /><br />10. Praying in tongues quiets the mind. When Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist, compared brain scans of Christians praying in tongues with Buddhist monks chanting and Catholic nuns praying, the study showed the frontal lobes—the brain’s control center—went quiet in the brains of Christians talking in tongues, proving that speaking in tongues isn’t a function of the natural brain but an operation of the spirit (1 Cor. 14:2, 14).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-73439667150470065872013-12-27T18:31:00.001+05:302013-12-27T18:31:45.386+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQccyGsM3UgKhOAQoK5yToGZjCJFtLEt-8HRt7KFszXvDoke2xTJ9BkVZiG8j_AbBCk_0BBZEeW928GIVOD2CntSD3-63XzoAPQOz_zAlL_kFm0D50wmHPMNKIlY156Getc1CX8gINdU/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQccyGsM3UgKhOAQoK5yToGZjCJFtLEt-8HRt7KFszXvDoke2xTJ9BkVZiG8j_AbBCk_0BBZEeW928GIVOD2CntSD3-63XzoAPQOz_zAlL_kFm0D50wmHPMNKIlY156Getc1CX8gINdU/s200/Picture+2.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Knowing Who I Am in Christ by Joyce Meyer (Taken from: <a href="http://www.joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=knowing_who_i_am_in_christ">http://www.joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=knowing_who_i_am_in_christ</a>)<br /><br />Not sure who you really are? Read this list of Biblical truths that reveal who God made you to be. <br /><br />I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10). <br /><br /> I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). <br /><br />I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). <br /><br />I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14). <br /><br />I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18). <br /><br />I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16). <br /><br />I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). <br /><br />I have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). <br /><br />I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). <br /><br />I have received the gift of righteousness and reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). <br /><br />I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18). <br /><br />I have received the power of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues. I have power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19). <br /><br />I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me (Colossians 3:9-10). <br /><br />I have given, and it is given to me; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men give into my bosom (Luke 6:38). <br /><br />I have no lack for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). <br /><br />I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). <br /><br />I can do all things through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13). <br /><br />I show forth the praises of God Who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). <br /><br />I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23). <br /><br />I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). <br /><br />I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). <br /><br />I am a spirit being alive to God (Romans 6:11;1 Thessalonians 5:23). <br /><br />I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (2 Corinthians 4:4). <br /><br />I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25). <br /><br />I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). <br /><br />I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37). <br /><br />I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11). <br /><br />I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). <br /><br />I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). <br /><br />I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9). <br /><br />I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJNboAq6PN5K54pJAfFu4jtKPK4Bi3q1HKF9G2Xxv32Je471_jP5JDyZv7rdw1K0ky-7tb_3kmVhVUcwUJdV3E-ayg_38XfDz1eggq1MihcjjcqhaivuhnND3-RAmtMR6eFI9cfbDVAg/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJNboAq6PN5K54pJAfFu4jtKPK4Bi3q1HKF9G2Xxv32Je471_jP5JDyZv7rdw1K0ky-7tb_3kmVhVUcwUJdV3E-ayg_38XfDz1eggq1MihcjjcqhaivuhnND3-RAmtMR6eFI9cfbDVAg/s200/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br />I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19). <br /><br />I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13). <br /><br />I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). <br /><br />I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12). <br /><br />I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7). <br /><br />I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13). <br /><br />I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13). <br /><br />I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7). <br /><br />I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9). <br /><br />I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). <br /><br />I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12). <br /><br />I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4). <br /><br />I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11). <br /><br />I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7). <br /><br />I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward (Philippians 3:14). <br /><br />For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). <br /><br />It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).</div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-35685746230150914972013-12-18T12:15:00.000+05:302013-12-18T12:15:03.454+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwWsQmGR0_fle7GiIq0wword-4Hhi1ZEd0hpJXFHnKzjGlM8ngOcAFJv3YNoIcXyHIdwWkKzSo0ILfpZoC3khZNVukf6ejphUWX6gw7GJyVDIL1xlyYzQjWzQZe1Jx-MnYcYamQbfygE/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwWsQmGR0_fle7GiIq0wword-4Hhi1ZEd0hpJXFHnKzjGlM8ngOcAFJv3YNoIcXyHIdwWkKzSo0ILfpZoC3khZNVukf6ejphUWX6gw7GJyVDIL1xlyYzQjWzQZe1Jx-MnYcYamQbfygE/s200/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Lessons From The Christmas Story by Andrew Wommack (Taken from: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/lessons_christmas" target="_blank">http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/lessons_christmas</a>)<br /><br /> Christmas is an awesome time of the year. <br /><br />I didn’t always think that way. Even before I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I got discontented with all the commercialism associated with Christmas. I remember as a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old teenager, I convinced my family to take all the money we would have spent on gifts for each other and to give that money to the missions program at church. That allowed our Christmas celebration to center on what was really important. <br /><br />Then, when I had my miraculous encounter with the Lord on March 23, 1968, I fell in love with Him a thousand times more than I had ever experienced His love at Christmas. It was like every day was Christmas, many times over. Therefore, Christmas became just another day to me. <br /><br />As I began to seek the Lord, I became aware of all the pagan practices incorporated into the Christmas season, and I became disillusioned with the whole thing. For the first sixteen years of my married life, we didn’t have a Christmas tree or decorate for Christmas. We would have a birthday cake for Jesus and give gifts to our boys, but we made it clear that they came from the Lord, through us, and not from some fat man in a red suit. <br /><br />Finally, when we moved into our present house fourteen years ago, my boys asked if we could have a Christmas tree. They said they knew the pagan origins of the custom, but they just thought it was pretty, and they wanted to look at it the way Martin Luther did — as a symbol of everlasting life. I gave in and we’ve enjoyed a Christmas tree ever since. <br /><br />But as I’ve grow older, I’ve come to appreciate the positive side of Christmas much more. In a culture that has become increasingly secular, where it is politically incorrect to even mention the name of the Lord lest we offend someone, I think it’s awesome that Christmas brings some of the greatest truths of the Gospel to light in public. Our roots as a Christian nation are showcased. <br /><br />When else can you enter into stores and hear some of the greatest Christian songs ever written being played, like “Joy to the World”? That’s awesome! You will see displays of the nativity scene in places that the only mention of the Lord at other seasons would be to take His name in vain. <br /><br />People talk about loving one another as God loved us by sending His Son to the earth. We are reminded of values that are forgotten or at least diminished at other times of the year. And if it weren’t for the Christmas holidays, family relationships would be worse than they are. This is the only time many families make an attempt to get along. <br /><br />In the fight against the de-Christianizing of our nation, I think the Christmas celebration is a great victory. I take pleasure in seeing the wonderful truths of God’s love for man displayed in public and having concerts in such places as the White House where Christ is being proclaimed in song. <br /><br />It’s a shame that some people only go to church at Christmas, but praise God, at least they go then. That’s an opportunity. And Christmas opens up many opportunities to share our faith. <br /><br />One complaint that I still have is that “the Christmas story” has become so familiar and has focused so narrowly on only the birth of the baby Jesus that some of the great truths present in that miraculous birth are not seen. Some of the greatest lessons in Scripture are hidden in the account of Christ’s birth, and the average person is totally oblivious to them. <br /><br />For that reason, I made a four-part album entitled, Lessons from the Christmas Story for Every Season. In this album, I share what I consider to be some of the most important things the Lord has ever shown me. <br /><br />Did you realize that the virgin birth of Jesus was totally normal in every respect except one? Mary didn’t become pregnant without contact with a seed. The laws of reproduction that God created weren’t suspended. Everything was exactly like all the millions of other births except that God used the seed of His Word instead of the seed of a man to get Mary pregnant. <br /><br />That’s why John 1:14 says, <br /><br />“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” <br /><br />Jesus was literally God’s Word becoming flesh. God used His Word as the sperm that conceived Jesus. This answers a lot of questions. Questions like: Why did the Lord wait four thousand years after the fall of man before He sent Jesus to the earth? Why did God have to become a man? The answers to these questions lie in the way God made creation, the authority He gave man, and the integrity of His Word. <br /><br />When God created the heavens and the earth, He spoke them into existence. Hebrews 11:3 says, <br /><br />“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” <br /><br />So, God created everything by His Word. That’s how He creates. When it came time to create the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), God had to speak Him into existence. However, He had given dominion over the earth to physical human beings. Since God is a Spirit (John 4:24), He couldn’t just speak Christ into existence independent of man. He had turned the control or dominion of the earth over to man (Gen. 1:26-28). That’s why God had to become a man. But, how could He work through sinful, corrupt man to create a Redeemer? <br /><br />He spoke to the hearts of men who would listen to Him, and they, in turn, would use their God-given authority over the earth to speak out the prophecies that God had placed in their hearts. The problem was that men had become separated from God through their sin. No one man was in tune closely enough to God to speak everything that needed to be spoken. So, it took about four thousand years to complete the prophecies that had to be spoken to create the body for God to become flesh. <br /><br />Then when Mary received the message of Gabriel, she humbled herself and said, <br /><br />“Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38) <br /><br />She received God’s Word into her womb, and the conception of the Messiah took place. <br /><br />Likewise, that’s how 1 Peter 1:23 says we are born again, <br /><br />"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." <br /><br />God’s Word is a spiritual seed that has to be planted in our hearts to conceive a miracle. The new birth doesn’t just happen any more than babies just happen. Children have to be conceived, and so does salvation or any other miracle from God. We have to be born again by the incorruptible seed of God’s Word (1 Pet. 1:23). <br /><br />Once a seed is planted, there is a nurturing and maturing process. That’s where prayer comes in. Prayer is like water and fertilizer or incubation to a seed. But if you water or fertilize barren ground, nothing will happen. There has to be the planting of a seed first. <br /><br />Likewise, we have mistakenly tried to only pray our miracles into existence. Prayer is important, but you can’t conceive through prayer. The seed of God’s Word has to be sown. As Romans 10:14-17 says, <br /><br />“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” <br /><br />We would consider a woman crazy who is trying to have a child without following the natural laws of reproduction. But in the spiritual realm, Christians try to give birth to miracles all the time without ever planting God’s Word in their hearts. It just doesn’t work that way. <br /><br />And then there’s the message of the angels that said, <br /><br />“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) <br /><br />This was not an announcement of an end of hostilities among men. History has proven that can’t be what the angels were proclaiming. Instead, this was the proclamation that the war between God and man was over. That’s not been understood or proclaimed by the church as a whole. Most people still think God is mad at them. That’s not so. He’s not mad, and He’s not even in a bad mood. Jesus satisfied His wrath completely. He is just, and there will be punishment for those who refuse the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. But God is not angry because of our sins. That’s been taken care of. <br /><br />This Gospel of peace is one reason there is such a universal acceptance of the Christmas season, even among those who are not born again. Christmas is all about God’s love and mercy, not His damnation. It’s spotlighting God’s unconditional love for us the way it should be done all year long. It’s focusing on the good news of God’s love and not the bad news of our failures. That’s the Gospel of peace that the angels were singing about, and that should be our message too. <br /><br />Then there’s the story of the wise men. Did you know that the Scriptures never say there were three wise men, and there is no indication that they were kings? They also didn’t visit Christ in the manger in Bethlehem, but in his house in Nazareth. And one of the best parts of the Christmas story is the way Mary let the Lord convince Joseph of the true nature of these events. <br /><br />There are just a lot of things in the Christmas message that have been obscured by tradition. This four-part album will be a blessing to you or anyone you choose to share it with. (Watch TV Broadcast here: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/tv/2011/week51">http://www.awmi.net/tv/2011/week51</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-52883176224038577852013-12-18T12:07:00.000+05:302013-12-18T12:07:03.023+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> How To Overcome Doubt by Andrew Wommack (Taken from: <a href="http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/overcome_doubt" target="_blank">http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/overcome_doubt</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> No one is immune to doubt. It can and does happen to us all. You've just got to know how to handle it when it comes. Even the greatest men and women of God recorded in the Bible had to deal with doubt. Jesus said of John the Baptist, </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> That means John was greater in the sight of Jesus than Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, or any Old Testament character you can name. Yet John doubted the most important thing of all by questioning whether Jesus was really the Christ. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> John the Baptist had been cast into prison for criticizing Herod about marrying his brother’s wife, an incestuous relationship. He had been there sometime between six months and two years and became so discouraged that he asked two of his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him if He really was the Christ. It's easy to read that and not think much about it, but the truth is, it was nothing but unbelief on the part of John the Baptist. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Think about who John was. He was separated unto God and filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still in the womb. Even Jesus wasn't filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. It is believed he lived in the desert near the Dead Sea with the Essens, the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were a people who were super-legalistic who dogmatically practiced many rituals of self denial. He certainly had not lived what we would call an easy life. John was separated and focused on his purpose. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> His entire life was committed to preparing the way for the Christ. He spent thirty years preparing for a ministry that would only last six short months. John is the one who saw Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"(John 1:29). The anointing on his life had to be exceptionally powerful because his ministry defied logic. Thousands of people from many nations came to the middle of nowhere to hear this man preach, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And God had revealed to him that through a visible sign from heaven he would know who the Christ was. He would see the Spirit of God descending upon the Messiah in bodily shape as a dove. That came to pass when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> At that time, John was absolutely certain that Jesus was the Christ. He had zero doubt. He was so adamant about it that he said </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God" in John 1:34. In Luke 3:16 he said, "One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose." And in John 3:30 he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> However, after being imprisoned for a period of time, he began to doubt. This says a number of things, but an important one is the fact that anyone can doubt. How did Jesus respond to John's doubt? Well, He certainly didn't respond the way most of us do. He told John's disciples to go back and tell him of the miracles they had witnessed and that John would be blessed if he would just believe. That's it. Jesus didn't try and make John feel better by letting him know He understood his pain or by making a few complimentary comments. Jesus reserved those comments till after John's disciples left (Luke 7:24-28). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This puzzled me for many years. Why didn't Jesus say these things about John the Baptist in the hearing of John's disciples so they could have brought him that word? It seemed to me like that would have helped John more than just telling him to look at the miracles, and he'll be blessed if he believes. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Years after I first had these questions, I was reading from Isaiah 35 and came across the passage that says, </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Is. 35:5-6). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> It suddenly struck me that this was exactly the answer that Jesus gave to John's messengers. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11:4-6: </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus performed all the miracles Isaiah prophesied He would do, and threw in the healing of a leper and raising someone from the dead just for good measure. What Jesus did was He perfectly fulfilled the prophecy about Himself, and then referred John the Baptist back to that word. Jesus reminded John of the scriptures, to deal with his doubts. That's Jesus' method of dealing with our doubts. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Many of us have Bibles lying around gathering dust. Some of us even carry one. But when we're struggling with unbelief, we don't want a scripture; we want something tangible, something emotional that we can feel. We would rather have Jesus just put His arm around us and say something about how everything will be all right. That would make us feel better. But overcoming doubt isn't just about feeling better; it's about getting back into faith that only comes from the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus sent the Word back with John's disciples. He knew this would stir up John's spirit to overcome the doubt. Peter understood this about faith when he wrote about it in 2 Peter 1:12-15, which says, </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Peter was stating how important it was for his words to be received, as they were, in truth, the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13). To prove to them that these were not just fables he made up, Peter refers to the time they were with Jesus on the mountain. They saw Jesus shine as the brightness of the sun. The Shekinah glory cloud of God overshadowed them all, and they heard an audible voice out of heaven say, "This is my beloved Son: hear him" (Mark 9:7). They also saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. That is pretty impressive! </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> But Peter went on to say in 2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy." What could possibly be more sure than all these supernatural signs? Peter gives that answer in the next verse when he talks about the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20). The Scriptures are more sure and more faith building and doubt destroying than seeing Jesus transfigured or hearing an audible voice from heaven. Hallelujah! </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The only sure way to overcome doubt is to place your faith in the Word of God and depend on that more sure word of prophecy. Don't allow your five senses to dominate your thinking. You must come to a place to where God's Word is more real to you than anything you can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. When you're in doubt, refer back to the Word of God just the way Jesus told John the Baptist to do. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> There are only two times recorded in the Bible when Jesus marveled at anything. Once He marveled at the people's great unbelief (Mark 6:6), and in Matthew 8:10 He marveled at a Gentile soldier's great faith. A faith that made Jesus marvel is worth examining. What was different about it? The number one difference was what the centurion said, </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." (Matt. 8:8-9) </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The centurion had a faith that was in God's Word alone. He didn't have to have Jesus come to his house and wave His hand over the sick servant. If Jesus would just give him a word, that was all he needed. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Contrast this centurion's faith with the little faith of Thomas, who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples. The first time the risen Christ appeared to His disciples, Thomas wasn't present. The other ten disciples told Thomas that Jesus was resurrected, but it was eight more days before Jesus appeared to His disciples with Thomas present. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25) </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus walked up to Thomas and told him to put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into Jesus' side and to not be faithless but believing. Thomas fell on his knees and confessed Jesus as his Lord and God. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus placed a greater blessing on those who believe without seeing than those who believe because they have seen. In other words, there is a greater anointing on believing the Word than believing signs and wonders. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in signs and wonders. Jesus used them like a bell to draw people unto Himself and so should we. But the ultimate, the more sure word of prophecy, is the written Word of God. There is a greater blessing on just believing God's Word than there is on believing because of supernatural circumstances. Those who are looking for circumstances to confirm their faith will fail when the strong battles of unbelief come. We have to get our faith so rooted in God's Word alone that we can withstand a hurricane. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The reason Jesus didn't try to make John feel better with a few kind words, an emotional touch, was not because He didn't care. He cared for John so much that He gave John His best — the written Word of God. That's how Jesus dealt with own His temptations (Matt. 4), and that was and still is God's best way for us to deal with our temptations to not believe. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Maybe there's a reason the Lord hasn't used an emotional touch to deliver you from unbelief. Maybe it's because He loves you so much that He's trying to help you operate in the highest form of faith — faith that takes Him at His Word. If the least of the saints today are greater than John the Baptist was then (Matt. 11:11), surely the Lord is wanting us to operate on at least the same level in which He dealt with John's unbelief.&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-9556515112431289202013-12-07T07:13:00.000+05:302013-12-07T07:15:46.418+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6VADg-U3P3xHvqRnmK6ggNUU9dIzBuFeac2InF5BXU3GWczb1jT5Eo2HpgWnINovD2uz5DI0DmTULdqhVgpmEuUK8xYp6UQeV7nxTN-8nCZbdQ7gKD6Wu3RWWhIJZq0n_EjXRQmNOC0/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6VADg-U3P3xHvqRnmK6ggNUU9dIzBuFeac2InF5BXU3GWczb1jT5Eo2HpgWnINovD2uz5DI0DmTULdqhVgpmEuUK8xYp6UQeV7nxTN-8nCZbdQ7gKD6Wu3RWWhIJZq0n_EjXRQmNOC0/s200/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.tillhecomes.org/Text%20Sermons/Luke/Luke%207%2024-30.htm" target="_blank">http://www.tillhecomes.org/Text%20Sermons/Luke/Luke%207%2024-30.htm</a> <br /> <br /> but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."<br /> <br /> If you are in the kingdom of God, you are greater than John the Baptist. Though he was the greatest prophet, the least in God's kingdom is greater than he. So are you a member of the kingdom of God? There is only one entrance fee. There is only one membership requirement. To be greater than John, to be a member of the kingdom of God, you have to be perfectly righteous. Since it is God's kingdom, that is his entrance requirement. No sin allowed. Not a lie, not a theft, not a bit of laziness or greed. The kingdom slogan is "One sin and you can't get in." That's what James 2:10 says anyway. Whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it. <br /> <br /> Before you despair of every getting in, let me tell you a little insider's secret. I'm a member of the kingdom of God, and I'm not perfectly righteous. I am a liar. I am a thief. I am lazy and greedy. But I am a member of the kingdom of God. How did I get in? I came in through the front door. Most people try to get in by sneaking through a window, or climbing over the wall, but the kingdom is too well protected. You can only come in through the front door. And though the door is front and center, illuminated with bright lights and big signs, most people don't see it. Most of the time, for those on the outside, the door has to pointed out by someone who is already on the inside. Someone from inside the kingdom has to come out, round up people, point to door, and say, "Here is the way in." <br /> <br /> Let me do that for you. If you want to get into the kingdom, there is only one way. It is through the door. And the door is Jesus Christ. He says in John 10:9, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved." Jesus says over in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get in. No one comes to God the Father, no one gets into the Kingdom of God expect through Jesus Christ. You see, as I indicated, entrance into the Kingdom requires perfect righteousness. None of us can achieve that, so Jesus Christ, God's only Son, came to earth, and achieved it for us. He lived a sinless life. But then, more than that, he died for us, and rose form the dead to purchase our entrance fees for us. Now, He says to you and to me, "I've paid the price for you to get into heaven. I'm offering it to you free of charge. All you have to do is believe in me to receive it." To get into the kingdom of God, to enter through the Door, all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. It's that simple. <br /> <br /> But although it is simple, it is so hard to accept. Most people have trouble finding the Door, because they think that in order to get into the kingdom, they have to do something. They have to repent of their sin, or commit to a life of Godliness, or promise God to change something in their life. What they do not realize is that Jesus already paid the full price. There is nothing left to pay. You just have to accept Christ's invitation, and walk through the Door. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> <br /> <br /> Quotes for the Christmas Season<br /> <br /> Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. –Unknown<br /> <br /> I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden." -Augustine<br /> <br /> Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." -Unknown <br /> <br /> Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." --J. Sidlow Baxter<br /> <br /> Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. –Blaise Pascal <br /> <br /> As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. --Albert Einstein<br /> <br /> There is something so pure and frank and noble about Him that to doubt His sincerity would be like doubting the brightness of the sun. -Charles Edward Jefferson <br /> <br /> Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. -Sholem Asch<br /> <br /> Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand. -S.D. Gordon <br /> <br /> It was this same Jesus, the Christ who, among many other remarkable things, said and repeated something which, proceeding from any other being would have condemned him at once as either a bloated egotist or a dangerously unbalanced person...when He said He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples—unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that! --Wilbur Smith <br /> <br /> Because Christianity’s influence is so pervasive throughout much of the world, it is easy to forget how radical its beliefs once were. Jesus’ resurrection forever changed Christians’ view of death. Rodney Stark, sociologist at the University of Washington, points out that when a major plague hit the ancient Roman Empire, Christians had surprisingly high survival rates. Why? Most Roman citizens would banish any plague-stricken person from their household. But because Christians had no fear of death, they nursed their sick instead of throwing them out on the streets. Therefore, many Christians survived the plague. -“2000 Years of Jesus” by Kenneth L. Woodward, NEWSWEEK, March 29, 1999, p. 55. <br /> <br /> Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked, "No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit." -Peter Larson<br /> <br /> The most pressing question on the problem of faith is whether a man as a civilized being can believe in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for therein rests the whole of our faith. -Fyodor Dostoevski <br /> <br /> The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. -Henry Morris<br /> <br /> People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying His prayer, and so on; but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry with which the presumption of that person is condemned. -Florence Nightingale<br /> <br /> There was no identity crisis in the life of Jesus Christ. He knew who He was. He knew where He had come from, and why he was here. And he knew where He was going. And when you are that liberated, then you can serve. -Howard Hendricks <br /> <br /> The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked the disciples to sit on the grass. He washed their feet, with a towel wrapped around His waist - He, who is the Lord of the universe! -Clement of Alexandria <br /> <br /> How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father's desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God. --Francis Frangipane <br /> <br /> Jesus Christ: The meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth –Anonymous <br /> <br /> You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; likewise Christ Jesus is First and Last of God's new creation, and all that is in between; you cannot get outside of that. -T. Austin Sparks <br /> It is as if God the Father is saying to us: "Since I have told you everything in My Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have told you all, revealed all, and in Him you will find more than you desire or ask. If you fix your eyes on Him, you will find everything, for He is My whole word and My reply, He is My whole vision and My whole revelation. -Anthony M. Coniaris <br /> <br /> Whenever the method of worship becomes more important than the Person of worship, we have already prostituted our worship. There are entire congregations who worship praise and praise worship but who have not yet learned to praise and worship God in Jesus Christ. -Judson Cornwall <br /> <br /> The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ is Christ. -Gary Amirault <br /> <br /> To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living. -John Henry Newman <br /> <br /> God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -Watchman Nee <br /> <br /> Christianity is not a doctrine, not truth as truth, but the knowledge of a Person; it is knowing the Lord Jesus. You cannot be educated into being a Christian. -T. Austin-Sparks <br /> <br /> I have one passion. It is He, only He. -Count Zinzendorf</div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-46478333552563553962013-12-01T21:46:00.000+05:302013-12-01T21:46:04.486+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrjuyd-BYj-Z2hEEVcvvX5u_xE6kJLdWlMsBDCfds0fjT0nHRuSPwYTkDveLdJ6p6yRt-em_BKv8PEnKdCRIXq6MkHMxTNWy1Y79G7kc5oeP36pT9fI7cFoqQt2eDrifXSjr1qRSH75c/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrjuyd-BYj-Z2hEEVcvvX5u_xE6kJLdWlMsBDCfds0fjT0nHRuSPwYTkDveLdJ6p6yRt-em_BKv8PEnKdCRIXq6MkHMxTNWy1Y79G7kc5oeP36pT9fI7cFoqQt2eDrifXSjr1qRSH75c/s200/Picture+2.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.joymag.co.za/article.php?id=144" target="_blank">http://www.joymag.co.za/article.php?id=144 </a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “Grace is possibly one of the most misunderstood concepts by Christians today. And yet Grace is integral to our walk with God – for Grace is actually Jesus Christ. He is Grace personified. His Grace is evident through the work of the Gospel – for the Gospel itself is Grace. <br /><br />The gospel and grace <br /><br />The test of the Gospel is Grace. If the message excludes Grace, or mingles law with Grace as the means either of justification or sanctification (Gal 2:21; 3:1-3), or denies the fact or guilt of sin, which alone gives Grace its occasion and opportunity, it is ‘a different’ gospel. (v. 8-9). We are saved by faith, not works. Our Christian walk is only by Grace…we cannot do anything by or of ourselves. When you put Jesus in the midst of your life, your marriage, your church, He will hold everything together. <br /><br /> “For the law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ”. John 1:17. Notice that Grace and Truth are linked together. So what is this Truth? It is the Truth of the New Covenant. Grace is not a doctrine. It is a person. The person of Jesus Christ. Grace is not a teaching, it is the Gospel. Sometimes when you look at Bible Schools they will teach on Grace….but Grace was never a doctrine. We need to rediscover the Gospel that Paul preached for it is in this Gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed – that is, the Grace of God through Jesus. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The law and grace <br /><br />The Law demands righteousness from sinfully bankrupt men. Grace imparts righteousness to sinfully bankrupt men. The Law of God says “I will by no means forget your sins, but I will visit them to the third and fourth generation”. But under the New Covenant because of the Blood of Jesus, God says, “I will remember your sins no more but your sins and iniquities I will remember no more.” The Law is natural. <br /><br />Grace is supernatural. The man in the street understands Law; there are people in the Middle East blowing themselves up because they believe they are keeping the Law. They are training to gain righteousness, hoping that they will obtain paradise. The Old Testament prophets call your sins into remembrance. New Testament preachers call your righteousness in Christ to your remembrance – because when you are awake to righteousness you will be dead to sin. <br /><br />Lawlessness and grace <br /><br />Why is it then that the Church has become so legalistic? It is because the Church fears that by teaching Grace people will become lawless and disgraceful. We know that we are saved by Grace – but it doesn’t end there. It’s Grace that saves us and Grace that will take us home. <br /><br />That was Paul’s message right throughout the New Testament and it should be our message today. (2 Corinthians 3). We cannot obtain righteousness with God through our own behaviour. We can only live, breathe and exist through Grace. Through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. <br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jesus is our example <br /><br />We do not abandon the law - but we do not live under it. Jesus is our teacher and our righteousness, the law makes you conscious of yourself, it shows you your failings. But it cannot deliver you. Only Christ delivers. <br /><br />The law was written on tablets of stone (the 10 Commandments to Moses), under the New Covenant God says “I will write My laws on your heart”. Under law you are focused on yourself and your good works or lack thereof. Under Grace you are focused on Christ. If you seek first His righteousness, then all will be added unto you. William Hunt the 18th Century theologian said: “Grace is the only thing that can bring a Holy God and a sinful people together. Therefore Grace is the greatest Holiness there is”. “Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under law but under Grace.” Rom 6:14 <br /><br />You can’t be under Grace and not be Holy anymore than you can not be under water and not be wet. Grace can not separate from Holiness. Please understand I am not against the law - Jesus said He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfil it.&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Righteousness and grace <br /><br /> Jesus kept the law completely and set the precedent for us. We do not strive to please God; for in Christ we have already pleased Him. But we live righteously because we love God. It is out of love and not duty that we refrain from sin and serve God. Once the law has been fulfilled (which it was in Christ) you rest. If you are paying a bank, once your debt or loan is paid off, you finish, you rest. <br /><br />The law is Holy – but it cannot make you Holy. The law is righteous, but it cannot make you righteous. (Galatians 2:21) The law is pure, but it cannot make you pure. (Galatians 3:1-3). Only Jesus can. <br /><br />When Jesus was preaching in the temple, the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery. They wanted to trip Him up so they said to Him: “Moses said she should be stoned”. If Jesus said don’t stone her, He would have broken Moses’ law. If He said stone her, the people hearing Him preach about the love of God would be confused. Jesus never answered them. <br /><br />The Bible says He stooped down and wrote on the ground. He said, “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone”. Did He break the law? No. He upheld the law. It is only Christ who can uphold the law and fulfil it. It is only by Grace that we are made Holy. <br /><br />We do not have to keep laws to be Holy; we keep Christ in our hearts and He makes us Holy. Sin cannot stop God’s Grace – because all are sinners. God’s Grace stops sin. <br /><br />Wisely, Jesus said to the adulterous woman “...Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” John 8:11b. Instead of condemning her, He showed her Grace and said “Go and sin no more. “ <br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> There is no condemnation <br /><br />He didn’t condemn her with the Law. He gave her the gift of Grace. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom 8:1. <br /><br />The Church has forgotten the definition of Grace, we expect people to be clean before they come to God. Before they become Christians! Wasn’t it Jesus who said that He came for the sick, because it is the sick who need a doctor? Why do we expect people to bathe before they come to the altar of cleansing? Why do we expect them to clean themselves when they can’t? It is only Jesus who cleanses us. It is only His Blood that washes us pure as snow. Our righteousness – our good works - are as filthy rags to God! Why? <br /><br />Because we presume on our own strength that we can be good, that we can please God, that we can do it. No, it is only Christ who can fulfil all the requirements of God. <br />&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> A revelation of grace <br /><br />People need a revelation of Grace so that they can truly know God and understand what He has done for us. When Jesus said it is finished – He completed it. You cannot finish a finished work. People sin without license – they don’t need a license to sin. (i.e. the argument that Grace gives license to sin). <br /><br />It takes the Holy Spirit to understand Grace, to live in Grace and walk by Grace. It takes the Holy Spirit to reveal the person and the work of Jesus Christ to you. You can’t do it on your own! <br /><br />Let us as God’s people return to Grace and not be afraid to preach Grace from our pulpits. When believers have an accurate understanding and revelation of Grace – that is Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross – they will truly live free and desire to be blameless for the Master.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-83776285685860034872013-11-24T22:50:00.001+05:302013-11-24T22:50:29.973+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeljazuC_9aKTDpXaEaQb73JuwPwaRU2UXu3ohQGsHZxniAcuYP0guXRw4IsCa4I0P6rD02yW08PuF2mCun0GZMoLi1lXAoOWeVtDZR27456bVhWWd9mJ7FWVy7woQ1DDZ7E-NeVM9tI/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeljazuC_9aKTDpXaEaQb73JuwPwaRU2UXu3ohQGsHZxniAcuYP0guXRw4IsCa4I0P6rD02yW08PuF2mCun0GZMoLi1lXAoOWeVtDZR27456bVhWWd9mJ7FWVy7woQ1DDZ7E-NeVM9tI/s200/Picture+2.png" width="166" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2078.htm" target="_blank">http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2078.htm</a><br /><br />"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."—Luke 23:42-43.<br /> <br />Know that if you have believed in Jesus you are prepared for heaven. It may be that you will have to live on earth twenty, or thirty, or forty years to glorify Christ; and, if so, be thankful for the privilege; but if you do not live another hour, your instantaneous death would not alter the fact that he that believeth in the Son of God is meet for heaven. Surely, if anything beyond faith is needed to make us fit to enter paradise, the thief would have been kept a little longer here; but no, he is, in the morning, in the state of nature, at noon he enters the state of grace, and by sunset he is in the state of glory. The question never is whether a death-bed repentance is accepted if it be sincere: the question is—Is it sincere? If it be so, if the man dies five minutes after his first act of faith, he is as safe as if he had served the Lord for fifty years. If your faith is true, if you die one moment after you have believed in Christ, you will be admitted into paradise, even if you shall have enjoyed no time in which to produce good works and other evidences of grace. He that reads the heart will read your faith written on its fleshy tablets, and he will accept you through Jesus Christ, even though no act of grace has been visible to the eye of man.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> I conclude by saying that this is not an exceptional case. I began with that, and I want to finish with it, because so many demi-semi-gospellers are so terribly afraid of preaching free grace too fully. I read somewhere, and I think it is true, that some ministers preach the gospel in the same way as donkeys eat thistles, namely, very, very cautiously. On the contrary, I will preach it boldly. I have not the slightest alarm about the matter. If any of you misuse free-grace teaching, I cannot help it. He that will be damned can as well ruin himself by perverting the gospel as by anything else. I cannot help what base hearts may invent; but mine it is to set forth the gospel in all its fulness of grace, and I will do it. If the thief was an exceptional case—and our Lord does not usually act in such a way—there would have been a hint given of so important a fact. A hedge would have been set about this exception to all rules. Would not the Saviour have whispered quietly to the dying man, "You are the only one I am going to treat in this way"? Whenever I have to do an exceptional favour to a person, I have to say, "Do not mention this, or I shall have so many besieging me." If the Saviour had meant this to be a solitary case, he would have faintly said to him, "Do not let anybody know; but you shall to day be in the kingdom with me." No, our Lord spoke openly, and those about him heard what he said. Moreover, the inspired penman has recorded it. If it had been an exceptional case, it would not have been written in the Word of God. Men will not publish their actions in the newspapers if they feel that the record might lead others to expect from them what they cannot give. The Saviour had this wonder of grace reported in the daily news of the gospel, because he means to repeat the marvel every day. The bulk shall be equal to sample, and therefore he sets the sample before you all. He is able to save to the uttermost, for he saved the dying thief. The case would not have been put there to encourage hopes which he cannot fulfil. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, and not for our disappointing. I pray you, therefore, if any of you have not yet trusted in my Lord Jesus, come and trust in him now. Trust him wholly; trust him only; trust him at once. Then will you sing with me—<br /><br /> "The dying thief rejoiced to see<br /> That fountain in his day,<br /> And there have I, though vile as he,<br /> Washed all my sins away."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a>&nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-33123090033307968302013-11-13T22:26:00.002+05:302013-11-13T22:28:46.472+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5GpzGncSTvJsR3AxDfS1vHfc3vcfmvZpbDoJQSieloEZjJqYA-fzogxd8XiXQr9XbUtIKia5nA2IyKBWhqf5PgIFvOOWsT_otTAZRAqFol5SdYb0qT6MnO32ns70k6ZLgKF_kp4HomE/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5GpzGncSTvJsR3AxDfS1vHfc3vcfmvZpbDoJQSieloEZjJqYA-fzogxd8XiXQr9XbUtIKia5nA2IyKBWhqf5PgIFvOOWsT_otTAZRAqFol5SdYb0qT6MnO32ns70k6ZLgKF_kp4HomE/s1600/Picture+3.png" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The Rent Veil <br /> A Sermon Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, March 25th, 1888, by<br /> C. H. SPURGEON,<br /> At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Taken from: <a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2015.htm" target="_blank">http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2015.htm </a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom—Matthew 27:50-51.<br /> <br /> Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which be hath consecrated for us, through the, veil, that is to say, his flesh—Hebrews 10:19-20.<br /> <br /> THE DEATH of our Lord Jesus Christ was fitly surrounded by miracles; yet it is itself so much greater a wonder than all besides, that it as far exceeds them as the sun outshines the planets which surround it. It seems natural enough that the earth should quake, that tombs should be opened, and that the veil of the temple should be rent, when He who only hath immortality gives up the ghost. The more you think of the death of the Son of God, the more will you be amazed at it. As much as a miracle excels a common fact, so doth this wonders of wonders rise above all miracles of power. That the divine Lord, even though veiled in mortal flesh, should condescend to be subject to the power of death, so as to bow His head on the cross, and submit to be laid in the tomb, is among mysteries the greatest. The death of Jesus is the marvel of time and eternity, which, as Aaron's rod swallowed up all the rest, takes up into itself all lesser marvels.<br /> <br /> Yet the rending of the veil of the temple is not a miracle to be lightly passed over. It was made of "fine twined linen, with Cherubims of cunning work." This gives the idea of a substantial fabric, a piece of lasting tapestry, which would have endured the severest strain. No human hands could have torn that sacred covering; and it could not have been divided in the midst by any accidental cause; yet, strange to say, on the instant when the holy person of Jesus was rent by death, the great veil which concealed the holiest of all was "rent in twain from the top to the bottom." What did it mean? It meant much more than I can tell you now.<br /> <br /> It is not fanciful to regard it as a solemn act of mourning on the part of the house of the Lord. In the East men express their sorrow by rending their garments; and the temple, when it beheld its Master die, seemed struck with horror, and rent its veil. Shocked at the sin of man, indignant at the murder of its Lord, in its sympathy with Him who is the true temple of God, the outward symbol tore its holy vestment from the top to the bottom. Did not the miracle also mean that from that hour the whole system of types, and shadows, and ceremonies had come to an end? The ordinances of an earthly priesthood were rent with that veil. In token of the death of the ceremonial law, the soul of it quitted its sacred shrine, and left its bodily tabernacle as a dead thing. The legal dispensation is over. The rent of the veil seemed to say—"Henceforth God dwells no longer in the thick darkness of the Holy of Holies, and shines forth no longer from between the cherubim. The special enclosure is broken up, and there is no inner sanctuary for the earthly high priest to enter: typical atonements and sacrifices are at an end."<br /> <br /> According to the explanation given in our second text, the rending of the veil chiefly meant that the way into the holiest, which was not before made manifest, was now laid open to all believers. Once in the year the high priest solemnly lifted a corner of this veil with fear and trembling, and with blood and holy incense he passed into the immediate presence of Jehovah; but the tearing of the veil laid open the secret place. The rent front top to bottom gives ample space for all to enter who are called of God's grace, to approach the throne, and to commune with the Eternal One.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Click here to view full sermon - <a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2015.htm" target="_blank">http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2015.htm </a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58XTO4RCN-bnD8KnHr4pReWRzZVKj9PtMzbyq_cSxfFvGGQGgZvAGKIX0wO-kBjGJmvLpAAM669jUgKWye4a1bmOOMvMtyU-JgpjFTMpc69wA4JbVCCTV89tokX0H0x7IqNk_A5NrA6U/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58XTO4RCN-bnD8KnHr4pReWRzZVKj9PtMzbyq_cSxfFvGGQGgZvAGKIX0wO-kBjGJmvLpAAM669jUgKWye4a1bmOOMvMtyU-JgpjFTMpc69wA4JbVCCTV89tokX0H0x7IqNk_A5NrA6U/s320/Picture+2.png" width="320" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> &nbsp; </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-85712347866222402172013-11-05T18:07:00.001+05:302013-11-05T18:07:25.320+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ4oLgdiQJCuFd6LdMRcJL24sQnQsOinDXWk2kV2YBvNzAvW2fJpXhxZvz5yS6MunkblLfKqllV6V_YH1uoxEQ_T4xrorEl-G0upTiafTldXZ7IW8MdLQEATzOTpWfN9ltW79xnrkPPY/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ4oLgdiQJCuFd6LdMRcJL24sQnQsOinDXWk2kV2YBvNzAvW2fJpXhxZvz5yS6MunkblLfKqllV6V_YH1uoxEQ_T4xrorEl-G0upTiafTldXZ7IW8MdLQEATzOTpWfN9ltW79xnrkPPY/s200/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> (Taken from: <a href="http://mumbaichristiandiary.blogspot.in/2013/07/i-believe-in-resurrection-of-dead.html">http://mumbaichristiandiary.blogspot.in/2013/07/i-believe-in-resurrection-of-dead.html</a>) </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> I believe in the Resurrection of the dead.&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In this post I would like to share some Old Testament verses about the Resurrection of the dead. <br /> <br /> If a man dies, shall he live again? <br /> All the days of my hard service I will wait, <br /> Till my change comes. <br /> You shall call, and I will answer You; <br /> You shall desire the work of Your hands. (Job 14:14-15) <br /> <br /> "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25, 26). <br /> <br /> As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; <br /> I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. (Psalm 17:15) <br /> <br /> But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, <br /> For He shall receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:15) <br /> <br /> He will swallow up death forever, <br /> And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; <br /> The rebuke of His people <br /> He will take away from all the earth; <br /> For the Lord has spoken. (Isa. 25:8) <br /> <br /> "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead" (Isa. 26:19). <br /> <br /> "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezek. 37:4-6). <br /> <br /> Furthermore, God says through Ezekiel: "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel" (Ezek. 37:12). <br /> <br /> The Prophet Daniel also foretold a coming resurrection when "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2). <br /> <br /> An angel appeared unto Daniel and told him: "But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest [in the grave], and stand [stand up in a resurrection] in thy lot at the end of the days" (Dan. 12:13). The word "resurrect" literally means "to stand again from below" — re (again); sur (below); rect (to stand). <br /> <br /> "1 will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction ..." (Hosea 13:14).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a></div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7442708722280057820.post-86871540646657438002013-11-05T17:49:00.002+05:302013-11-05T17:49:50.410+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Is Grace a License to Sin? (Taken from: <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/09/24/is-grace-a-license-to-sin/" target="_blank">http://escapetoreality.org/2012/09/24/is-grace-a-license-to-sin/</a>)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br />Grace-preachers attract sinners and that is a good thing. If you are a sinner – you have come to the right place! Sinners are welcome in the House of Grace. I wish our churches were magnets for sinners for that would be a sure sign we were preaching the true gospel of grace. <br /><br />If this scandalizes you then you may want to avert your eyes from the One called the Friend of Sinners. Jesus didn’t wait for sinners to come to Him; He literally went into their homes and got Himself invited to their parties. That’s because grace is for sinners. It is not for those who think they are basically good and decent people. As Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mt 9:13). <br /><br />So I suppose I should be thrilled that I get a lot of correspondence from sinners – and I am. What is less thrilling is the correspondence I get from saints who think they are sinners and who want me to validate their choice to act like sinners. <br /><br />Why do saints act like sinners? <br /><br />Some may do it out of ignorance (“I am holy? I didn’t know!”) or out of a fatal belief that they can live by law and call it grace (“<a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/01/30/do-everything-jesus-said/">I’m just trying to live by the red letters of Jesus</a>”). But a saint who acts like a sinner is a hypocrite – they are acting like someone they are not. <br /><br />In a recent post I dealt with <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/08/21/letter-to-young-men/">five questions I typically hear from hot-blooded young men</a>. But today I want to answer the biggest question of all… <br /><br />Is grace a license to sin? <br /><br />No. It is true that grace brings freedom and that includes the freedom to make poor choices, but if you use your freedom to enslave yourself to sin, then you have missed the point of grace: <br /><br />It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1) <br /><br />The purpose of grace is to liberate the prisoner and give life to the dead. Grace is also good news for the poor (Lk 4:18-19). So if you use grace to enslave or impoverish yourself by making dumb decisions and indulging the flesh, then you are setting aside grace. You are not using it for its intended purpose. Grace liberates, but if you use your freedom to discard your freedom, then what was the point? You are no better off than when you started. <br /><br />Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. (Rom 5:20) <br /><br />Don’t ever fall for the lie that says “I can go on sinning so that grace may abound.” True, your sinning won’t affect God’s love for you, but it will surely affect you. It will enslave you and ultimately kill you. This is not God’s will for your life. <br /><br />What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. (Rom 6:1) <br /><br />Grace is no more a license to sin than electricity is a license to electrocute yourself. True, you can use electricity to electrocute yourself but God forbid that you would! That’s not what it’s for. God created electricity so you could enjoy light and warmth and ESPN’s Sports Center. Grace, like electricity is meant to bring life not death and there is no life in sin. <br /><br />We need to see sin for what it really is. It is not some benign activity like making coffee or hitting free-throws down the stretch. As God warned Cain, Sin is a crouching beast that desires to master you. Running after Sin is about as smart as poking a pit-bull with a stick. <br /><br />They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom! <br /><br />The apostle of grace wrote much about how sin enslaves and he wasn’t just talking about sinners: “You are slaves to the one whom you obey” (Rom 6:16). Now please understand I am drawing a big fat line between a saint who occasionally sins and a saint who runs after sin. There is a big difference. The former finds himself doing what he doesn’t want to do; the latter is doing exactly what he wants to do. If you are troubled when you sin, relax – your discomfort is actually a sign of the new nature and new desires within you. Your heart is to please the Lord. But if you are untroubled when you sin – perhaps because you think grace is a license to sin – then wake up and smell the coffee. Something is very wrong. <br /><br />For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Tit 2:11-12) <br /><br />I am aware that some use this scripture to promote behavior modification thus condemning those who are struggling to overcome sin. (If you are trying to overcome sin, check out the excellent links at the end of <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2012/08/21/letter-to-young-men/">this post</a>.) The point I want to make here is this: The grace of God that brings salvation teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness. So any grace that isn’t teaching you to say “No” is counterfeit grace. Is grace a license to sin? Only if it is fake grace. <br /><br />So why do I still sin? <br /><br />I suspect there are two reasons. Either you don’t know <a href="http://escapetoreality.org/2011/04/24/who-do-you-think-you-are/">who you really are</a> and you are still running on the operating system you had when you followed the way of the world. Or you are an unbeliever. The grace that teaches us to say no only comes through faith. If you don’t believe you can say no then, guess what, you won’t. This is why it is imperative to declare what the Bible says is true about you. <br /><br />If you are a Christian you are a new creation. The new has come and the old has gone. When you came to Christ you did not sign up for a program of life-long reform and self-improvement. That way lies disaster and disappointment. Christ is your life. Learn to allow Him to express His flawless, sinless life through your earthen vessel. <br /><br />When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and declare “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am His dearly loved child.” When you’re about to click on a link that you should not click or when reaching for some substance that is killing you, say it again: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am His dearly loved child.” This is not the power of positive thinking. This is a frail human being tapping into the inexhaustible riches of His transforming grace through faith.<br /><br />Have faith in God – His grace is powerful! It is the only thing on this earth that can give us freedom from sin and sinning. Live under the fountain of His grace and sin shall not be your master (Rom 6:14).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Catholic-Daily&amp;loc=en_US" target="_blank">Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email</a><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> </div> Krish Fernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588980609752775821noreply@blogger.com0