Ramos Talaya

Prodigal Girl: Based on a True Story

2016-04-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce my new book, Prodigal Girl: Based on a True Story, will be coming out on May 10, 2016.

"A shattered heart. A reckless revenge plan. Big trouble.

They broke her heart…now she has no heart, and they have to deal with the heartless monster they’ve created.

How far would you go to settle the score with your cheating ex?"

Betrayed, raped and afraid to trust anyone with her heart, Finola embarks on a path of revenge, which puts lives in danger. Blinded by pain and circumstances, she cares not who gets hurt, so long as she avenges herself on those who betrayed and hurt her.

A painful and messy break up made her lose all hope and confidence in love, causing her to harden her heart, shut the door on love, and set herself on a path of retaliation that leads to hopelessness.

Sometimes, the thing you are desperately seeking is right in front of your eyes, but you are too blinded by pain and circumstances to see it. Yet, every now and then, life surprises you and love knocks at your closed heart once again…when you least expect it!

2015-09-02T07:49:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we can only reach our destiny when we’ve reached the end of ourselves. When circumstances, or rather, the One who has the universe on the palm of His hand redirects our path and leads us to our place in history where we find the purpose of our existence.

The incomprehensible redeeming love of God is made vivid in this Christian novel!

Levi, a young man that lost his father, and with his loss, had his dream shattered. Losing his dream led him to find purpose.
In purpose he found love and in love he found the true meaning of life. Will he learn to live life or will he throw it all away?

The course of his life is changed after encountering Douglas, an old man with one foot in the grave, who in Levi he discovers a new dream worth living for. He is determined to make this dream a reality. Will he succeed, or is it too late for him?

Through painful circumstances, Levi’s life is intertwined with Rachel’s; a beautiful young woman, who is running away from the past, yet she is so scared of the future. Hurt by the past, will the future treat her any better than the past?

Tragedy leads Levi to cross paths with Carlos, a very successful business man, who is surprised to find out that the most important thing in life is not money. Now he must learn the true meaning of life, but will he?

Feel your heart being tugged and pulled as you delve deep into the story; and find yourself cheering on the gracious love of God and empathizing with the characters as they face trials, pain, sorrow and how their faith is tested to the limits on their journey to blissfulness!

Soul Revival: A 40 Days' Journey to the Feet of Christ

2014-10-29T03:10:00.001-07:00

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." (2 Chronicles 16:9A) (NKJV)

From time to time, there comes a book that irrevocably changes the lives of many, and this book is that life-changing book!

In a time where Christianity seems to be losing its relevance and influence in the world, where greed and materialism seem to be replacing Christ's Gospel of salvation and holy living, God is calling on ordinary Christians to take a stand for the Gospel of Christ.

Soul Revival is a practical 40 days' spiritual journey challenging both believers and non-believers to review the path of life they are walking, to evaluate their lifestyle, and to consider the eternal consequences of choices made.

The book is rooted firmly in Scripture. Based on the greatest sermon ever preached by Christ (found in Matthew chapters 5-7) and is wisely and intricately patterned into a 40 day life journey. The author expounds on the matchless teachings of Christ, making Christ's teachings clear and easy for the reader to comprehend.
The book makes Christianity easy to understand and practical, setting many Christians and non-Christians free!

"Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my
soul out of trouble." (Psalm 143:11) (NKJV)

Is your soul athirst for God?
Is your heart yearning and longing for a closer and meaningful relationship with Christ?
Are you willing to pay the cost for a closer, intimidate and satisfying relationship with the Holy Spirit?

Is your soul athirst for a personal revival?
If yes, then... Sow 40 days of your life and reap a soul revival!

Watch the The Book Trailer Here:

Available on

Amazon.

Day 40 The Holy Spirit

2011-10-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Day 40

The Holy Spirit

“Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

(2 Corinthians 5:5-9)

The Holy Spirit is the 5^th Treasure

The Holy Spirit is the 5^th treasure that you must guard with your life!

My dear beloved, God our Father has given us His Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we indeed have eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. For though we are still on this earth, the Spirit is our comfort and our hope that we will be delivered from this cruel world on that Great Day of the LORD!

God has given us His Holy Spirit to lead us unto eternity so that we should no longer be tossed to and fro by the wicked one and all the trickery of men, but rather that we should look above from where our help comes; that we should no longer be earthly-minded, but heavenly-minded, by following the Spirit as the Spirit leads us; that indeed we may be the children of God. For if we are not led by the Spirit of God, we are not the children of God, as obedience to the Holy Spirit is the mark that we are the sons and daughters of God:

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Romans 8:14-17)

Therefore, let us make it our aim to be well-pleasing to God by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, for if we do not have the Spirit of Christ leading us, we do not have the Spirit of Christ in us. And if we do not have the Holy Spirit, though we may be called Christians, we do not actually belong to Christ:

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)

My dear beloved, let us treasure the Holy Spirit, which is our guarantee that indeed we are saved, by casting away all the works of darkness. For if the Spirit indeed abides in our hearts, let us, therefore, cleanse our hearts by casting away all our evil ways.

Let us also not rebel and grieve the Holy Spirit with our stubbornness by continuing in sin, refusing the Holy Spirit’s reproof, and rejecting the Holy Spirit’s help to guide us out of sin:

“Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin:do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32)

For if we rebel and grieve the Spirit of the living God, we establish ourselves as enemies of God. Now do we really want God as our enemy? Certainly not!

“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;
so He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
and He fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:10)

Let us, therefore, put away this casual attitude toward God which is so prevalent in this current generation. Let us fear God from our hearts, not merely with our lips, for if we fear God only with our lips we shall die.

“Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29)

My dear beloved, let us repent, not with lips, but from the heart, cutting ties with all works of darkness. Let us fully surrender unto the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit leads us unto salvation by the grace of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

Let us also not resist the Spirit of God anymore, as others did:

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:51)

Nor let us lie to the Holy Spirit, as others have:

“But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself.’” (Acts 5:3)

Let us, therefore, serve God with godly fear and reverence, doing the will of God from the heart, allowing His Spirit to lead us--not the flesh, not men, and not the devil. We must be led by His Spirit, which God has given us to establish us in His grace, as a guarantee that we are His children. We will live in this cruel world for a little while, but Christ, who is coming, will come and He will not delay!

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit

A) The Abiding Presence:

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

B) The Teacher and Reminder:

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

C) The Testifier:

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” (John 15:26)

D) The Convicter:

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:7-8)

E) The Guide, the Voice of God, the Prophet:

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13)

F) The Glorifier of Jesus Christ our Lord:

“He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14)

G) The One who reveals Jesus Christ our Lord:

“All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:15)

H) The Source of Power:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

I) The Witness to Sonship:

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:16)

J) The Helper in Prayer:

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

K) The Inviter:

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

As you can see, my dear beloved, it is impossible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to work for and with God without His Holy Spirit!

Finally, my dear beloved, just as no one knows what is in the heart and the mind of a man, but his spirit, even so God has given us His Spirit to guide us that we may know what the perfect will of God is. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, even the deep things of God, and makes intercession for us. God reveals them to us through His Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12)

Let us, therefore, be submissive to the Holy Spirit! And if you are not certain that you have received the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus commands us to ask:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:9-13)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

and the love of God our Father,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you,

now and forever more.

Amen.

Meditation: God has sealed us by His Holy Spirit and has given us the Holy Spirit into our hearts as a guarantee that we are saved!

Prayer points: Lead me, oh Holy Spirit, teach me, correct me, empower me, and help me to do the will of God! I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I submit myself unto You, Spirit of the Living God. Please lead me unto salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen!

Day 39 The Ministry

2011-10-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Day 39

The Ministry

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)

Your ministry is the 4^th Treasure

Your Ministry is the 4^th treasure that you must guard with your life!

My dear beloved, unlike the popular belief, your biggest ministry is not to preach to crowds, to run crusades, to form churches, or to bring thousands or even millions to Christ. In fact, you can do all these and yet fail to fulfill your ministry. In truth I tell you, the biggest ministry of your life is yourself, to conquer self in you, to bring your flesh to the cross and crucify it with Christ that you may no longer walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit. You must make a conscious decision to crucify the flesh with Christ; to put self aside; to do no longer things according to your will; to surrender your will into total submission to Christ; in order that His will may be done and not yours! Until you make this decision, you are not ready to serve God! Oh, you can serve churches, you can serve organizations, you can serve men and women, and you can even serve yourself, but God is not there, my dear beloved. God’s ways are not our ways. Therefore, God must work in us before He can work through us. He first must deal with the self in us, for the flesh is in perpetual enmity with God. They cannot work together!

You are the vessel that God desires to use for His eternal purpose; however, the flesh also wants to control you so that you may do the works of the flesh! Now, to whomever you surrender your will, will lead you to bear certain fruit. If you surrender your will to the flesh, you will produce the works of the flesh. If you surrender your will to God, you will produce the fruit of the Spirit!

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I

also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

If you are doing the above, you have submitted your will to the flesh.

Please check out selfish ambitions which is the weapon that the devil has been employing lately to entice us to do the will of the flesh.

Now, this does not mean that you cannot preach! You can preach a powerful sermon, but perhaps there is a woman in the congregation just waiting for you to finish preaching so that the two of you may commit adultery. Again, you can preach powerful sermons, yet you cannot stand the brother next to you. Therefore, your preaching does not impress God, for even the devil can quote Scriptures. Some preach out of envy; selfish ambition; out of self or pride; for honor, recognition, riches, money; or to be called pastor, prophet, reverend, bishop, or apostle. We find that, especially in our current generation where titles are so important, often if you call a man of God by his name alone without his title, he will not answer! Are we therefore not carnal? That is why preaching is not included in the fruit of the Spirit, because we can use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for our own selfish ambitions!

“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.” (Philippians 1:15-16)

My dear beloved:

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

For the Lord Jesus knows all those who are His:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

My dear beloved, let us therefore not be of those to whom the Lord will say “I never knew you!” Rather, with fear and trembling, let us handle the Word of God in spirit and truth, doing the will of God from our hearts.

The Lord Jesus said:

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)

It is clear then, that God is glorified when we bear much fruit, but often we mistakenly “bear fruit” such as preaching; leading big crusades; evangelizing; baptizing people as a result of our preaching; bringing others to church; praying for others; and casting out demons. And yes, these things we are commanded to do! However we thank God for His Word that reveals to us what His true fruit is! Amen!

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2)

Here, the Lord Jesus tells us that we do not bear fruit of ourselves; the fruit is rather a result of God’s work in our lives. Now we know that God works in us through the Holy Spirit. If a person does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, that person cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit, for it is God who works in us through the Holy Spirit for us both to will and to do His good pleasure, or in other words, to bear fruit.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Because we bear fruit as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Bible calls it the fruit of the Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

There are nine varieties of fruit, and not one of the varieties is preaching.

So then, God is glorified when:

· We love Him with all our hearts, and we love others as we love ourselves!

· We are joyful in the midst of problems and uncertainties because by giving us the Holy Spirit, He has given as a guarantee of eternal life.

· We have peace in the midst of trials and tribulations because we trust Him!

· We are longsuffering, extremely patient with others and ourselves and most of all with God, trusting that God knows what is best for us.

· We are kind.

· We are good.

· We have faith in Him, believing that He is able to supply all our needs. And we are faithful with what He has entrusted us with, including ourselves.

· We are gentle.

· We exercise self-control.

“For the fruit of the Spiritis in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.” (Ephesians 5:9)

AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

My dear beloved, our ministry is to reconcile people to God; however, before this happens, we must be reconciled to God ourselves so that we may be true ambassadors for Christ!

HOW TO BE A TRUE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST:

A) With the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is an inlet that comes through faith, a gift from God! So we must learn to listen, surrender, and submit ourselves to God through the Holy Spirit, so that God may use us as He wishes, according to His purposes; so that His work may be done in us and through us; and finally, so that His Word may be spoken through us.

B) Through Your Life

Do not tell people that you are a Christian; they must see it for themselves, through your lifestyle, your behavior, your conduct. And most of all, they must see it through your character, which is the best sermon you can ever preach. Then, because of your life, many people will turn to God. When you live an effective Christian life, God will work through your life to bring His lost children to His Heavenly kingdom, that they may have life also.

C) By Your Love

Do not talk love: give love and show love. This was one of the most powerful tools our Lord Jesus used during His ministry on earth. He did not choose whom to love, He loved everyone unconditionally, and the result is that many people felt welcomed and comfortable around Him, especially sinners. So if we are our Master’s disciples, we must copy the unconditional love exhibited in our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Genuine love is the greatest weapon into any one’s heart.” (Ramos Talaya)

D) With Your Words

Please choose your words very carefully because what you say can make or break your ministry. Always stick to the truth, the Word of God, rather than your own interpretation of the Word of God. And make sure that your words are always, always, in one accord with your lifestyle. As they say: “PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!”

E) With Your Service

We must develop a servant’s attitude. We are here to serve, not to be served. This is one of the biggest lessons Christ taught His disciples. It does not matter what your profession is; your status; your level of education; or your position, race, gender, tribe, or country. In the kingdom of God, everyone is a servant and the greatest of all is the one who serves. Once you have developed this attitude of a servant, you will realize that there is more pleasure in serving than in being served in the kingdom of God.

F) With Your Money

This probably is the most potent when it is used wisely. Money is power! No doubt about it! So your money is important in the kingdom of God. When you give your money for the kingdom of God, a lot of things can be achieved. We must give because it costs money to build a temple; it costs money to feed the poor; to clothe the naked; to shelter the homeless; to send a missionary; or to pay a preacher or an evangelist to go preach the gospel. All this costs money. So, we must be faithful to God with our money. After all, everything we have comes from His hand--even all our money belongs to God. As you give, so shall you receive.

G) By Your Prayer

This is the most important one: we must develop a steadfast prayer life, a two way communication with God. Because even though we can share the gospel with someone, only God can convict a person through the Holy Spirit, and only God can change that person’s heart. Therefore, we ought to spend a lot of time in prayer for all our brothers and sisters, for all our ministries and projects. The good thing about prayer is that prayer is universal; you can pray for anyone, from anywhere in the world, at anytime, and God will hear and answer all your prayers. How wonderful is that. Thank You, LORD, for prayer and for faith. Amen!

Please remember when you pray that prayer is a two way communication. When you pray, therefore, you must allow God to answer while you pray. Pray and be still and allow God to reply, similar to a conversation with your earthly father. May the God of peace bless your heart, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Finally, my dear beloved, to bear much fruit is to surrender our will to God, which is a very difficult thing for us to do. This is a constant fight between the flesh and the Spirit, for they are contrary to one another. And it is my sincere prayer that our flesh lose the fight and that God’s will be done in all our lives!

Therefore, my dear beloved, surrender all to God, those secret things that you hold close to your heart, the ones you enjoy the most. Surrender all to Jesus our Lord. Make God first in your life. It means that you must let go of everything in conflict with the will of God. Shun all forms of evil, especially the secret ones with which you can get away, the ones no one will ever know about! When you are presented with an opportunity to do evil, and you choose rather to do good for Christ’s sake, you bring much glory to God. For we are God’s epistles, written with love for good works. Amen!

“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11)

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. So you will be My disciples.

Prayer points: Help me, oh LORD, to do Your will, oh my God! I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I surrender all unto You, oh Lord Jesus. Let Your will be done and not mine. Amen!

Day 38 The Heart

2011-10-13T21:56:00.001-07:00

Day 38

The Heart

“Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.”

(Proverbs 4:23)

Your Heart is the 3^rd Treasure

Your Heart is the 3^rd treasure that you must guard with your life!

My dear beloved, the heart is the center of life; therefore, it must be carefully guarded! Everything we think, speak, and do comes straight from our hearts. Now, what you think, speak, and do forms your character, and your character is the sum of who you really are. If you think evil, speak evil, do evil, you are evil! But if you think good, speak good, and do good, you are good!

The heart is the most important organ of our physical bodies. We can live without a finger, an arm, a hand, a leg, or an eye; but we cannot live without a heart! The Word of God says that the life is in the blood. Now, the heart is responsible of distributing blood throughout our entire body. In other words, the heart distributes life to the whole body. If your heart stops, you are pronounced dead! The signal we have that we are still alive and that the breath of life is still in us, is our heart beat. If our heart stops, we are undeniably in trouble. Therefore, we can safely say that the heart is the container of life. The heart is so important, that it will, in fact, determine your eternal destiny!

For if physically, your heart pumps blood (life) to the rest of the body in order to keep it functioning, even so it is in the spiritual realm. Your heart must continue to bring forth good to keep you alive spiritually, for when your heart stops bringing forth good and starts bringing forth evil, you will slowly cease to be spiritually alive, and the result will be spiritual death!

My dear beloved, if faith is the ticket to heaven, and the Word of God is the currency we use to acquire it, the heart is the container where we keep the ticket until the Day of the trip arrives.

“Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live.” (Proverbs 4:4)

HOW DO WE GUARD OUR HEARTS WITH ALL DILIGENCE?

“My son, give attention to my words;
      Incline your ear to my sayings.
       Do not let them depart from your eyes;
      Keep them in the midst of your heart;
      for they are life to those who find them,
      And health to all their flesh.” (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Here God tells us how to keep our hearts safe:

A) Incline your ear to my sayings:

This means that you must pay attention to what God is saying in His Word concerning you and the world. It means that you must hear God talking to you daily through His Word.

B) Do not let them depart from your eyes:

This means that you must fix your eyes on Jesus who is the Word of God. You cannot let a day pass without reading the Bible. The Bible MUST NOT depart from your eyes. If it helps, get three Bibles: one for the house, one for the car, and one for the office. These days we are so blessed. We can even have e-Bibles: one on your pc or laptop, and even better, one on your cell phone.

Why is this important? Because the Word of God is your spiritual sword. It is the only weapon you can defend yourself with against the devil and his evil spirits:

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

My dear beloved, without the Word of God in your heart and mouth, you are powerless before the devil and all his demons. Take the example of Jesus Christ our Lord, how He defeated the devil with the Word of God by simply quoting Scriptures against each temptation the devil brought before Him. Now, these things are written for our learning, that through the Scriptures we may have comfort and hope! Amen!

My dear beloved, our eyes and our ears are highways that lead straight to our hearts. For us to guard our hearts, we need to guard what our eyes see and what our ears hear! For if by beholding we become, then by hearing we speak!

HOW TO GUARD YOUR EYES:

1) TV, cinemas and internet: Please carefully select what you watch on TV, cinemas and internet. Ask yourself concerning the program you are about to watch, if the Lord Jesus could be seated next to you. Would you be comfortable? I tell you the truth, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior; He dwells in your heart through the Holy Spirit which dwells in you. Now should we then take the Holy Spirit, which is with us all the time, to watch the following:

Adultery,nudity, fornication, pornography, blasphemers of Christ, haters of God, violence, cursing, worldly lusts, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, evil spirits, sorcerers , contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.

My dear beloved, those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us, therefore, not be partakers of their sins. If by beholding we become, the more you watch of the above, the more you will be and do likewise. No wonder children are so violent these days. It is because of what they watch on TV. If all they watch is fighting and cursing, they will do likewise. And no wonder so many Christians are struggling with adultery, fornication, pornography—it is because of TV, cinemas, and the internet.

My dear beloved, some TV shows and movies are not meant for Christians, so please stay away from them. They will not only corrupt your mind, but they will also take you away from God. And some websites are not meant for Christians, for the name of our Lord Jesus is blasphemed in them. My dear beloved, it is your God-given responsibility to protect your eyes and the eyes of your family and the eyes of those around you who are under your care!

2) Magazines, books, novels, newspapers and pamphlets:

Reading, my dear beloved, is like watching. As you read, your eyes capture the words and they go straight into your mind and your heart. Therefore, what you see affects your behavior. Your mind is stimulated by what you read--romantic novels, erotic stories, nude pictures—and these can easily lead you to commit adultery and fornication!

Please do examine this for yourself.

People who behave weirdly are mostly people that are constantly reading and watching weird contents. Some even become serial killers because of the books they read. Some become vain because of the garbage they read. Some are unable to think as their opinions are merely repetitions of what they read. Some become gossipers as a result of reading a lot of gossip.

In other words, we become what we feed our minds with.

My dear beloved, I repeat, it is your God-given responsibility to protect your eyes and the eyes of your family and the eyes of those around you who are under your care!

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR EARS:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

My dear beloved, the devil is using music to corrupt our minds with his evil agenda. Music that is full of cursing, violence, sexuality, hate speech, racial tensions, racial attacks, tribal attacks, classicism and the like are not for Christians. For if we give heed to the evil spirits on this kind of music, we will bring it into the church, and we will divide the church. Even now there are some divisions that the devil has managed to sneak into some churches.

Now, if there are racial divisions and social status divisions, are we not still living carnally?

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:1- 6)

My dear beloved, we are one in the LORD. There is neither European, nor African, nor South or North American, nor Indian, nor Asian, nor Arab, nor Jew; but we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord! And this is a testimony to the world, that God is indeed love, and His love is above all things. The devil hates this love and he wants to destroy the unity of the Body of Christ, but we are not ignorant of his devices. He will not be successful. There will always be a group in every generation that will bear witness of the love of God in us and us in Him, until Christ Jesus our Lord returns. Amen!

My dear beloved, would you love to be part of this group? I plead with you in Christ’s name; turn that evil music off, music that is full of cursing, violence, sexual lyrics, hate speech, racial tensions, racial attacks, tribal attacks, classicism and the like. This type of music is not for Christians. Throw away the CDs and DVDs, delete this music from your computer, laptop, iPod, USB, cell phone. Please get rid of it, that you may have a clean and sound mind for discerning good from evil.

YOUNG PEOPLE

Please turn that music and those video games off. They are full of cursing, violence, sexual lyrics, hate speech, racial tension, racial attacks, tribal attacks, classicism and the like. Please turn it off.

“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
      And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
      Walk in the ways of your heart,
      And in the sight of your eyes;
      But know that for all these
      God will bring you into judgment.
       Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
      And put away evil from your flesh,
      For childhood and youth are vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)

And again:

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
      Before the difficult days come,
      And the years draw near when you say,
      “I have no pleasure in them.”   (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

Most of all, watch out for deceiving spirits who take on themselves a form of Christianity and who teach God’s people false doctrines. Watch out my dear beloved! Watch out!

WHY IS GOD COMMANDING US TO GUARD OUR HEARTS WITH ALL DILIGENCE?

A) It determines your character: This will determine your eternal future.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a)

B) It is a source of defilement: What comes out of our hearts causes us to sin against God.

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:18-19)

C) It controls speech: The content of your heart will determine what your mouth speaks.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

D) It is the source of faith: It is with your heart that you believe in Christ Jesus our Lord unto righteousness by faith, and it is the faith in your heart that prompts your mouth to make confession unto salvation.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

My dear beloved, it is your God-given responsibility to protect your ears and the ears of your family and the ears of all those under your care.

Let us, therefore, give our hearts to God that we may be found worthy on that great and dreadful Day of the LORD. Who can stand it? Let us give our hearts to Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom our heart is forever safe! Amen!

“My sons, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.” (Proverbs 23:26)

Finally, my dear beloved, protect yourself and those under your care, for the devil knows how effective the power of suggestion is. He did not make Eve eat the fruit, he only suggested it, and Eve did the rest. The mistake Eve made was to give him attention! And even so now, the devil is suggesting things to us using advertising on TV, movies, music, music videos, video games, magazines, books, newspapers, pamphlets, websites, tracts, and all other forms of media!

What is the devil suggesting to all of us?

The devil wants us to disobey God. The devil knows that God and sin do not mix, and the best way for the devil to separate us from God is to cause us to sin. So, every time you yield to the devil’s suggestions, you are allowing the devil to separate you from God. Let us, therefore, not make the same mistake as Eve made, for the Bible is written for our learning. Let us not give the devil any attention, but rather let us focus our ears on what God is saying to us by His Word. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, whose name is the Word of God. Amen!

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: For as I think in my heart, so I am!

Prayer points: Help me, oh LORD, to guard my heart. Please give me discernment concerning what I should watch, read, and listen. Please show me the way in which I should walk and help me to walk in it. Take my heart and let Your will be done in it, for I trust You, oh my God. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I give You my heart, oh God! I commit myself from today onward, by Your grace, to stop watching, reading, and listening to whatever is not profitable for my soul, and I commit myself to meditate on Your Word day and night; to watch, read, and listen to that which is good for my heart. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 37 The Word of God

2011-10-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

Day 37

The Word of God

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

(Matthew 24:35)

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

The Word of God is the 2^nd Treasure

The Word of God is the 2^nd treasure that you must guard with your life.

My dear beloved, nothing that you see will last forever. All will be burned with fire. The only thing that will last forever is the Word of God. It is time, my dear beloved, to take your eyes, heart, and mind from that which is perishing, and fix them on that which will last forever: the Word of God! Beloved, if faith is the ticket to heaven, the Word of God is the currency we use to acquire it.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Now, my dear beloved, if we are really serious about going to heaven, and the ticket to go to heaven is faith, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God, then it is about time for us to lay hold of the Word of God, locking it in our hearts unto death. For, whether we are alive or dead, the Word remains a living Word in us, for God’s Word is eternal. So whether we are alive or dead, the Word locked in our souls will respond to the voice of the Lord when He comes in clouds and we shall be raised by the power of His Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! Glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

Dust off your Bible, and open the pages of Light that will illuminate your way into eternity. Read the Word of God, my dear beloved. Even as you feed your physical body day and night, even so feed your inner man by studying the Word of God day and night. Read two or three times a day, according to your hunger for God, and add prayer with each Bible study as you invite the Holy Spirit to teach you. You do not need to be super intelligent, that is a doctor, or a theologian, or a pastor, or a bishop, or a reverend in order to understand the Word of God. All you need is hunger for God, the desire to understand the Word of God for yourself--not to preach to others, but for yourself. If you humble yourself onto your knees, and ask God to teach you through the Holy Spirit, I tell you the truth, God is faithful. He will come down wherever you are and God will abide in you and be with you and teach you daily. And by the time God is done with you, you will speak as it is written:

“Oh, how I love Your law!
         It is my meditation all the day.
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
         For they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
         For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
         Because I keep Your precepts.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
         That I may keep Your word.
I have not departed from Your judgments,
         For You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
         Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
         Therefore I hate every false way.” (Psalm 119:97-104)

My dear beloved, the Word of God is not for the wise according to the flesh, but for the simple of heart. If you search the Word of God diligently you will find God and He will teach you Himself, and when God is done with you, you will have more understanding than all your teachers! Hallelujah! Amen!

Therefore, let us eat and drink the Word of God, for the Word of God is food indeed for the soul and drink indeed for the Spirit. Even as Christ Jesus our Lord gave a good testimony before Satan:

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’”

(Matthew 4:4)

THE WORD IS FOOD:

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” (John 6:35)

My dear beloved, Jesus Christ our Lord is the bread of life, the spiritual food for our soul. The Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Word of God:

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11-13)

Now Jesus Christ our Lord is the eternal Word of God. This very Word became flesh:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

(John 1:14)

Now the same Word that became flesh is commanding us:

This is a demand of total dependency on Him. Just as a branch that is not connected to the tree cannot produce fruit, because it is not connected to the source that gives it life, even so, God has given life to the world through Jesus Christ, which is God’s true Vine.

And we thank God that His true Vine is not like the natural vine which only accommodates its natural branches, and when a branch is broken off, it cannot be reconnected. We thank God that His Vine is supernatural; not only can a branch be reconnected after it has been broken off, but even branches that are not natural branches of His Vine can also be grafted in, as long as the branch is desiring to be connected to the Vine. Hallelujah! Glory be to God for His supernatural Vine. Amen!

After Christ made this commandment of total dependency on Him, many of His disciples were confused: “How can He say we must eat His flesh and drink His blood?” they asked themselves. And many followed Him no longer:

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” (John 6:66)

But we thank You, oh Lord Jesus, for explaining to us what it means:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6: 63)

Now, my beloved, the words of Christ Jesus our Lord are written in the Scriptures for our sake, that we may eat of them and have eternal life.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Now, if you want to hear from God, His word is written in the Bible. We thank God for pastors, bishops, prophets, reverends, and those who minister to us. May God bless them. However, God is speaking to all of us by His Son, and His Son is the Word of God. Therefore God is speaking to all of us by the Bible which is the Word of God. Amen!

Therefore, do not just wait for that still small voice. That still small voice will come when God can trust you with His written Word. For if you do not treasure His written word, the Bible, why would God trust you with that still small voice?

Let us therefore treasure the Word of God and keep it in our hearts and lock it in our hearts and never, ever depart from it. For the Word of God is a treasure indeed, a treasure to be desired more than anything, more than silver and gold, and even more than your necessary food:

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12)

“More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:10)

My dear beloved, everything that we need is in the Word of God. All we must do is to search for it:

For direction:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

For success:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

For protection:

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.” (Psalm 119:114)

For victory over sin:

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

For wisdom:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7)

For perfect peace:

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

For healing:

“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20)

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.” (Matthew 8:16)

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      and by His stripes we are healed.”   (Isaiah 53:5)

And everything else we need, my dear beloved, we will find it in the Word of God.

Finally, my dear beloved, search the Scriptures for yourself. Read, read again prayerfully, and read yet again. The Scriptures will give you wisdom and will direct your steps; therefore meditate, eat, and drink the Word of God day and night, and let His word dwell richly in your heart!

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)

Let us guard the Word of God in our hearts with our lives. For the Word of God is eternal. There is nothing like it, and there will never be anything like it! The Word of God improves lives; strengthens hearts; heals people; repairs homes; fills souls, spirits, and bodies; motivates the discouraged; gives hope; makes weak people strong; makes worried people find peace; makes confused people find answers; makes intelligent people grow wiser; and makes a fool gain wisdom. Hallelujah! Praise the LORD! Give glory to Him Who alone is Eternal and Wise. Amen!

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE WORD OF GOD GRANTS ETERNAL LIFE!

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.

Prayer points: LORD, please give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of Your Word. Please teach me Your Word, that I may understand Your Word according to Your will. Holy Spirit, please teach me and help me to understand the Word of God. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward, by the grace of God, to search and study the Word of God for myself, and to allow the Holy Spirit to teach me, that I may understand the perfect will of God for my life, through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 36 Faith

2011-10-12T02:29:00.001-07:00

Day 36

Faith

“…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

(Luke 18:8)

Faith is the 1^st Treasure

Faith is the 1^st treasure that you must guard with your life!

My dear beloved, faith is our plane ticket to heaven. Whoever does not have faith will miss the flight to heaven, because we are saved by grace through faith:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Therefore, it is through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord that we have peace with God:

So, if it is by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, that we have peace with God, it stands to reason that if we do not have faith in Christ within us, we are enemies with God! Now if we do not have peace with God, we are not fit to spend eternity with God. Who wants to spend an hour with his enemy, let alone eternity? As Christ approached the end of His ministry on earth, He was troubled. Being God in the flesh, He foresaw the apostasy of the church, He saw men departing from the faith, He saw men giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. Consequently He posed the question that troubles me a lot:

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

And why is Christ concerned about finding faith on earth? See, He foresaw the future, the apostasy of the church, and many departing from the simplicity of the faith, believing fables. He groaned in His Spirit because He was about to lay down His life for all of us, and all we have to do is simply to believe in Him. Yet He foresaw us failing to believe in Him from our hearts as our only means of salvation, and He was very concerned. Why?

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

My dear beloved, God our Father in His own divine wisdom and counsel decided to save us by His grace through faith! He has canceled all our sins through the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. All God expects us to do is to believe in Christ Jesus. All we have to do is to believe that Christ indeed has done this for us. God expects us to cease all our strivings in pleasing Him, and just accept His gift of salvation by grace that He has so freely given us by hanging Christ on the cross in our place. My dear beloved, righteousness is credited to us through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord!

But often we do not believe in the free gift of God as enough, and we depart from the beautiful simplicity of the gospel and instead entangle ourselves with doctrines of food, clothing, and days! We make the sacrifice of Christ of no effect. Truly these things are profitable only if our heart is set on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as our only means of salvation. Otherwise we bring condemnation on ourselves and God will not be pleased with us:

“Now thejust shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39)

Faith, my dear beloved, is an indispensable element of Christianity!

The Scriptures describe faith as such:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

This signifies that through the eyes of faith, we can see the things which God has promised, and by the hope God has poured into our hearts through faith by the Holy Spirit He has given us, we may have confidence of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!

“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:55-56)

Faith makes the invisible, visible. Stephen saw the heavens open and Jesus Christ our Lord standing at the right hand of God! Hallelujah! Amen!

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Paul was caught up to the third heaven. He was caught up into Paradise and he heard inexpressible words, words which are not lawful for a man to utter. It is only by faith that the invisible becomes visible. God is Spirit, which means God is invisible. He cannot be seen. But faith makes God visible and real to those who believe in Him.

My dear beloved, it is only by faith that we can have fellowship with God and it is by faith that we believe that which He has promised. He will do it. Faith enables us to lay hold of that which cannot be seen. Therefore, faith is our most effective defense weapon against the devil and his gospel, seducing us with such lies as, “don’t wait for heaven, have your best life now.”

My dear beloved:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

To love God is to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Therefore, my dear beloved, let no one or anything rob you of this confidence we have in God, which is our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let no doctrine of demons or trickery of men come your way. Let no one preach to you another gospel and another Jesus. Hold fast to your faith in Christ which has great recompense, for the Lord is at hand and His reward comes with Him. Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty that you are called by grace through faith in Christ, which gives you access to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” (Colossians 2:6-10, 12, 16-18)

Finally, my dear beloved, faith is your ticket to heaven. Let no one or anything take it away from you. Guard your faith with your life unto death. Let no one cheat you of the blessed hope in Christ to which we have access only by faith. The Lord Jesus is at hand. Hold fast!

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” (Revelation 3:11)

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23)

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:14-17)

That in the end we may also say:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

The Lord Jesus says:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Yes Lord, I believe with all my heart that You are the Christ, the Son of God. Amen!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Amen!

Meditation: Faith in Christ is my ticket to heaven. If I lose faith in Christ Jesus my Lord, I miss heaven!

Prayer points: LORD, pleasedeliver me from my unbelief, and please increase my faith in Jesus Christ my Lord! Please help me to set my mind on things above and not on things on earth. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today, by the grace of God, to walk by faith, not by sight, to set my mind on things above, not on things of the earth. Through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 35 Obedience, the Rock Foundation

2011-10-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

Day 35

Obedience, the Rock Foundation

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

(Matthew 7:21-27)

Obedience, the Rock Foundation is the 27^th pillar

Obedience, the Rock Foundation is the 27^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, obedience is submitting to a commandment or a request.

Obedience to God is what this journey is all about. Nothing else matters more to God than that we obey His voice. We are in this mess because of disobedience, because Adam, our father according to the flesh, failed to obey a simple commandment:

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

This, my dear beloved, was a simple test of obedience, but man failed to believe the almighty God and chose rather to believe a serpent. Can you believe it? Can you believe that man chose to believe an animal rather than God? To believe a lie rather than the Truth?

“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:4-6)

Even so, now, at this very hour, the serpent (the devil) is working around the clock to deceive men with all his lies, that men may join him in his rebellion against God. But God, who is rich in love and mercy, is commanding us not to believe the lies of the serpent again as Adam and Eve did so readily, but to believe in the Truth, which is Christ Jesus our Lord!

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

My dear beloved, our times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now God is commanding you and me and everyone everywhere to repent, because God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ our Lord!

My dear beloved, do not be deceived. The world and all its lusts and pleasures will not last forever, but will surely end. Ready or not, Jesus Christ our Lord is coming and He will Judge the world! Because Jesus Christ has already died for us, there is nothing greater that He can do for us. If we do not believe from the heart, but continue to live in sin, and refuse to give up our evil ways, even if with our mouths we call Him Lord, Lord, He will not accept us:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

What is the will of God?

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40)

My dear beloved, I speak the Truth in Christ and I lie not. It is the will of God that all of us be saved. If you ever came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord, it is because God our Father has given you to Christ. Now it is up to you. It is your choice that will determine where you will end up.

Are you wondering what it is that you must do to please God?

“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” (John 6:28-29)

Is that all I must do?

Yes, my dear beloved. To believe in Jesus Christ our Lord is all that God requires from you and me for salvation.

We are unable to do any good on our own. So God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to save us for free--yes, for free! All you have to do is to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord! And once you have believed, God will work in you, both to will and do of His good pleasures. What is it that you must believe about Jesus Christ?

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:12-19)

My dear beloved, glory be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

This is what God wants you to believe: we are all born sinners whether we like it or not. We do not have the choice or the power to be born sinless. We are born sinners whether we agree or not. This is called condemnation (original sin): the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve are made sinners through Adam and Eve’s sin. Unlike condemnation, the gift of justification--that is, to be made righteous without works--we have a choice whether or not to believe and accept. Because Adam disobeyed God, we are all made sinners; yet even so, because Jesus Christ our Lord has obeyed God unto death, we can all be made righteous by believing in Jesus, that He has indeed obeyed God on our behalf. In believing, His obedience is credited to us in the form of righteousness. Hallelujah! Glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

My dear beloved, obedience to God, that is, to do the will of God, will determine our eternal future. And as you can see, the will of God is that we believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, and in Him alone, and on what He has done for us all on the cross, as our only means of salvation! Amen!

THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEYING GOD:

A) It must be whole-hearted:

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37)

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

“Not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” (Ephesians 6:6)

There is nothing that God hates more than half-hearted obedience. We are either hot or cold; we cannot be both. Half obedience is actually disobedience.

B) It is the price of success:

My dear beloved, do not let the devil hold you captive in his will, making you go up and down, doing all sorts of things, even some ungodly things in search of success. My dear beloved, success in the Christian life starts when you decide to obey God!

C) It is better than sacrifice:

“So Samuel said:
      “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
      as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
      Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
      And to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

My dear beloved, never, ever, attempt to bribe God with your tithes and offerings and sacrifices that you offer to God in order to ease your conscience. God will rebuke you and reject your sacrifices. You cannot do your dirty deals and come and give an offering to God. God will reject it. There is no money in heaven, my dear beloved. What God wants you to do is to obey His voice and do what He says, which is: “CEASE TO DO EVIL, LEARN TO DO GOOD” (Isaiah 1:16-17)

Obedience, my dear beloved, rather than sacrifice, is what God requires of us:

“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.” (Jeremiah 7:23)

D) It secures entrance into the Kingdom of God:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

My dear beloved, only those who by the grace of God have learned and are learning to do the will of God will enter the Kingdom of heaven!

E) It is the imperative duty of life:

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)

My dear beloved, do not let the devil trick you by enticing you to obey men rather than God. Do not aim to please men—it is not possible!

But rather in everything you do, seek and pursue the will of God from your heart, that indeed you may love God whole-heartedly:

“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.” (2 John 6)

My dear beloved, access to God our Father is only through Jesus Christ our Lord, without which no one will ever see God, for Jesus is the image of the invisible God. It is therefore the will of God that we obey the teachings of Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen!

BENEFITS OF OBEYING CHRIST’S TEACHINGS

A) It is the base Rock of character:

My dear beloved, this means that if you take Christ’s teachings into your heart, and keep them in your heart, your faith in Him will be solid. No trials, nor tribulations, nor the devil, nor demons, nor anyone, nor anything will be able to shake you from your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

B) It is essential to become a member of God’s family:

“For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”(John 6:40)

My dear beloved, it is only when we accept Christ’s teachings and obey His commandments by believing in Him that we become members of God’s family, for it is by believing in Christ that we have the right to become the children of God:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

C) It is the key to spiritual knowledge:

“If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” (John 7:17)

My dear beloved, it is only in Christ’s doctrine that we find true wisdom and spiritual knowledge which helps us overcome issues of life and have victory over them! Amen!

D) It secures the blessing of divine fellowship:

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” (John 14:23)

My dear beloved, when you obey the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Godhead in fullness comes and dwells in your heart by faith so that you have access to fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit daily. Hallelujah! Thank You Father! Amen!

Finally, my dear beloved, glory be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us all, that we may have eternal life in Him! Amen! My dear beloved, be strong in the Lord. Be of good courage, doing the work of the LORD, not to please men, but to please God from deep within your heart. I know and I bear with you that it is not easy to do the will of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, where evil is cool and righteousness is boring to the multitudes that are perishing.

But to us who believe, to do the will of God is the salvation of our souls. Take a stand for the Truth, my dear beloved, and do not entangle yourself with the affairs of this world, but rather fix your eyes on Jesus our Lord:

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:15-22)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says:
“ In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

(2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Amen!

My heart’s desire is that we all be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen!

Meditation: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven!

Prayer points: LORD, please teach me the way of Your will, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in this. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to me, Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away Your reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good. Behold, I long to do Your will, oh my God.
Revive me in Your righteousness. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward, by the grace of God, to seek and find out for myself what the perfect will of God is for my life and then to do it through Christ who strengthens me. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Day 34 Fruit, the Test of Life

2011-10-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

Day 34

Fruit, the Test of Life

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

(Matthew 7:15-20)

Fruit, the Test of Life is the 26^th pillar

Fruit as the Test of Life is the 26^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, from the beginning, God has constantly warned us about false prophets. “Beware of false prophets,” says the Lord Jesus. Why is God so concerned about false prophets?

The problem is that when a man or a woman claims to be sent by God, and acts as a messenger of God, he or she becomes the mouthpiece of God to the hearers. Now what God is concerned about, is when a man or a woman takes it upon themselves to speak on behalf of God when He did not appoint them as His messengers, nor did He send them, but they speak out of presumption.

When such a prophet or prophetess speaks on behalf of God, prophesying about the future or anything else, and that which they prophesied does not come to pass, we call them crazy, disturbed, a storyteller, and so on. Unfortunately, however, this blasphemes the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is Omniscience Divine! Amen! That is, He is an all-knowing God. He has the ability to know the end from the beginning. And that is what separates the God of the Bible from any other gods:

“Remember the former things of old,
      For I am God, and there is no other;
      “I am God, and there is none like Me,
        Declaring the end from the beginning,
      And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
      Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
      And I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

“Let all the nations be gathered together,
      And let the people be assembled.
      Who among them can declare this,
      And show us former things?
      Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
      Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
       “ You are My witnesses,” says the LORD,
      “ And My servant whom I have chosen,
      That you may know and believe Me,
      And understand that I am He.
      Before Me there was no God formed,
      Nor shall there be after Me.
       I, even I, am the LORD,
      And besides Me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:9-11)

“I am the LORD, that is My name;
      And My glory I will not give to another,
      Nor My praise to carved images.
        Behold, the former things have come to pass,
      And new things I declare;
      Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:8-9)

My dear beloved, only God has the ability and the power to foretell the future with exact accuracy. The Bible is the ONLY book in the world which contains prophecies that have been fulfilled with exact accuracy. Scientists, archaeologists, theologians, intellectuals and the like, whether they believe in God or not, cannot deny that the Bible has foretold events long before they happened. They cannot deny that when they did happen, these things happened exactly the way as foretold in the Bible, not one day longer or one minute earlier, but at the exact time the Bible said they will happen, the things happened.

And all this is to create faith in us, who hear the Word of God as it is in the Bible, that we may believe and trust the God of the Bible. This is so important to our faith, and our faith is in an all-knowing God and, therefore, God cannot endure to have men and women speaking on His behalf things that He has not sent them to speak. For they prophecy things in the name of God which do not come to pass, and in doing so they associate God with error, distorting the reality of God as an all-knowing God, creating confusion and unbelief in God and His infallible Word, the Bible! Yet God knew they would come, and again He proved Himself to be indeed an all-knowing God by telling us that false prophets will come long before they were even born. They have come and gone. Some, in fact, are here now. And others will come and go until the end of times.

But because of His love for us, lest we perish with those who do not believe, God is constantly warning us about false prophets. Not only that, God has given us His Word as a standard to identify a false prophet:

“’But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.’” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

My dear beloved, according to the above verses, if anyone prophecies in the name of the LORD, and that which the person has prophesied does not come to pass, he or she is a false prophet. It does not take many prophecies, just one! If even one prophecy does not come to pass, he or she is a false prophet!

Now, my dear beloved, God will allow such false prophets to arise in order to test us and to see if we indeed love God or not; if we indeed fear Him or not; and if we really indeed believe Him or not.

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams,

For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

My dear beloved, if someone comes to you preaching another gospel that is not in the Bible, depart from them.

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

Be very careful, my dear beloved, with this thing of “the angel told me.”

Again, if they say to you, the Bible is not enough, we need another book or another prophet, depart from them:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

My dear beloved, the Scriptures make us complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

And so again I say, if they say the Bible is not easy to understand, that we need someone to interpret it for us, someone to reveal it to us, depart from them:

“Knowing this first that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

My dear beloved, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth, and this was fulfilled in the lives of the apostles, especially in the lives of Paul and John. It is also fulfilled in our lives daily.

God has also closed the Scriptures in a way that is rather fearful so that we may be reverent of His Word and have godly fear, not to take anything from His Word or add anything to His Word:

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)

The wisest man that ever lived advises us:

“Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words,

Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)

My dear beloved, the best way for us to identify a false prophet is to follow the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You will know them by their fruit,” says the Lord!

The best way for us to understand this is to address the Fruit of the Spirit, which is the test of a Christian life. Then we can examine ourselves, seeing whether we are genuine Christians or whether we just claim to be Christians. If we really are Christians, we must produce the Fruit of the Spirit, for in producing the Fruit of the Spirit we glorify God, which is the purpose of our lives!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

My dear beloved, the test of our faith is called the Fruit of the Spirit, which is a direct result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person. Therefore my dear beloved, the first thing to look for in a true prophet or a true Christian is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in such a person! For if a person does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ.

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)

If a person does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, that person cannot produce the Fruit of the Spirit, for it is God who works in us through the Holy Spirit, both to will and do of His good pleasure.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Therefore, my dear beloved, by their fruits you will know them. If they are of God, they will always speak that which is Truth. Not just sometimes, but always! And they will bear the Fruit of the Spirit which is:

· Love

· Joy

· Peace

· Longsuffering

· Kindness

· Goodness

· Faithfulness

· Gentleness

· Self-control

If they are of God they will produce the above, but if they produce evil:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adulteryfornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

If they produce the above and the like--they are not of God. Someone or something else has their hearts. Of such turn away my dear beloved, lest you be partakers of their evil.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SPIRITUAL FRUIT:

A) It is produced in all periods of life:

“Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
they shall be fresh and flourishing.” (Psalm 92:13-14)

B) It is permanent:

“Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” (Ezekiel 47:12)

C) It only grows in good ground:

“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:8)

D) It has varieties:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

E) It is without defect:

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.” (Ephesians 5:9)

“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11)

F) It is not man-made, it is a product of heavenly wisdom:

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17)

Now my dear beloved, if it is your inner desire to bear much fruit by Jesus Christ our Lord, to the glory and praise of God, here are the conditions:

CONDITIONS FOR BEARING SPIRITUAL FRUIT:

A) You must be in contact with living waters:

“He shall be like a tree
         Planted by the rivers of water,
         That brings forth its fruit in its season,
         Whose leaf also shall not wither;
         And whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)

B) You must receive the Word of God, which is the spiritual seed:

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)

C) You must die to old life:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24)

D) You must be chastised and pruned:

E) You must forever abide in Christ:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22)

“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)

Finally, my dear beloved, no one or anything can take away from us that which Christ Jesus our Lord has done for us on the cross. Not the devil, nor his false prophets, nor angels, nor churches, nor cults, nor ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing can separate us from the everlasting love of God, but ourselves. Only we can separate ourselves from the love of God, by choosing to believe a lie rather than the Truth, by believing men rather than God! Your choice, your decision will determine your eternal future. We only have one soul. Let us not gamble with it. Let us believe and put our faith in the Word of God and nothing else. For God cannot turn back on His Word. Let us therefore with fear and trembling surrender our lives to Christ, in whom we have eternal safety. Amen!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written:
‘For Your sake we are killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)

Amen!

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Amen!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Amen!

Meditation: Beware of false prophets. You will know them by their fruits!

Prayer points: LORD Jesus, please help me to bear much fruit, that the Father may be glorified in my life, that I indeed may be Your disciple. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today by the grace of God, to bear fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ my Lord, to the glory and praise of God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Day 33 The Law of the Road

2011-10-08T23:16:00.001-07:00

Day 33

The Law of the Road

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

(Matthew 7:13-14)

The Law of the Road is the 25^th pillar

The Law of the Road is the 25^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, salvation is free; however, it costs you your life. Unlike the popular belief, the Lord Jesus Christ was not so loved during His ministry on earth as we like to make it appear these days. My dear beloved, His teachings demand a conversion of the heart, not merely words. And this, my dear beloved, is against the old man (the flesh). The old man (the flesh) lusts after evil, comforts, luxuries, and the pleasures of this life. Christ, however, did not hide from anyone the fact that the true cost of eternal life is death, His death on the cross for us, which leads to our death to self for His sake so that we should no longer live, but Christ should live through us!

And this is the unpopular truth which the old man (the flesh) does not want to hear. It is a truth from which the church is tending to drift away in these days, because those who still want to live in the flesh refuse this message and because these are often men of influence who teach others to refuse this truth as well. The devil is so pleased with this that he came to their aid and gave them another ‘’gospel,’’ a gospel that does not require self-sacrifice, but a gospel of celebration and entertainment, all to please the flesh.

My dear beloved, please turn away from this “gospel”. Many men and women have shed their blood for us so that we can have the scriptures available in our own languages and that we may understand what the will of God is for our lives. Because of their sacrifice, each of us can read God’s will for ourselves in order that we may not be deceived by evil and corrupt men who distort and corrupt the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and who are of corrupt minds.

Now whether you should believe God or men, you decide. But hear what the Lord Jesus says about the way of salvation:

“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)

Why?

“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14)

And what are the costs of following Christ?

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39)

My dear beloved, Christianity is a self-sacrificing way of life; it’s not a walk in the park. It costs you your life! You must be prepared to lose your life in the hands of God for Christ’s sake. You must be prepared to entangle yourself no longer with the affairs of this world. You must be prepared to focus 100% on Jesus Christ our Lord!

Do not give heed to the crowd pleasers, for their god is their belly and money is what they are after. So they will tell you what your flesh wants to hear, and when your flesh is excited and entertained you will give them your money. And the richer they are, the more powerful they are, because the devil can back up these evil doctrines with his servants’ riches. He uses it to lure even more people into this trap called ‘’the prosperity gospel,’’ and millions are flocking to it to believe it. Why?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Beloved, our time is “the time”, and the consequences are certainly grievous.

“And with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

The Lord Jesus demands total dependence on Him from His disciples:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’

These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’
But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (John 6:53-69)

We, however, are not of those who go back, for we, like Peter and the disciples, believe with all our hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that it is in Him that we have eternal life. It is certainly true that true Christianity is not an easy road, but it is the worthiest of roads. When you turn to Christ with all your heart, mind, and soul, you will be hated, you will be persecuted, you will be stoned, not just by the world, but also by all the lukewarm Christians, because they have the love of the world and its pleasures in their hearts. Therefore, they hate anyone who worships God in spirit and truth.

But hear the advice of the Lord Jesus to those who desire to enter Heaven:

“Then one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who are saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’” (Luke 13:23-27)

My dear beloved, for far too long we have allowed corrupt men to distort the Word of God to their own benefit. It is time for godly men and women to arise and shine. It is time to stand by the Truth. It is time to take Christ’s side.

How long will we dwell with two opinions? If JEHOVAH is God, worship Him; if mammon is god, worship it.

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)

But we, my dear beloved, are not of those who go back into perdition, for we believe in Christ Jesus our Lord as the Savior of our souls. Amen!

It is true that to pick up one’s cross is not easy, but it is essential to follow Christ, for no one can follow Christ without picking up his own cross:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.’” (Matthew 16:24-27)

Let us, therefore, my dear beloved, pick up our own cross with joy in our hearts and follow Christ Jesus our Lord. And since we are going to be rewarded according to our works, let us, therefore, turn away from any form and appearance of evil and all worldly pleasures and turn to God with all our hearts, minds, and souls and do that which is good in the eyes of God:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Finally, my dear beloved, when you decide to give your back to the world, and pick up your cross and follow Christ with all your heart, mind, and soul and by God’s grace to live a godly life, you will face persecution. The world will hate you, your friends will leave you, and family members will despise you. Do not despair, my dear beloved, for the LORD our God is with us. Endure afflictions as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, for He promised us that He will never leave nor forsake us:

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” (John 15:18-21)

“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And

you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.

Meditation: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Prayer points: LORD, please show me the way in which I should walk. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity. And do not let me eat of their delicacies. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God, Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake, bring my soul out of trouble. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself to enter through the narrow gate; to follow Christ wherever He leads me; and to lose my life on this earth for my faith in Christ that I may gain eternal life. I commit my life into Your hands, oh Lord Jesus Christ. Keep me safe in Your hands, Oh LORD, until You come in Your Glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Day 32 Golden Rule

2011-10-07T23:33:00.001-07:00

Day 32

Golden Rule

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

(Matthew 7:12)

Golden Rule is the 24^th pillar

The Golden Rule is the 24^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, the Golden Rule is the only law that can bring sanity and stability into the world. It is when men, for even a minute, stop seeking their own good and just for a second, consider the well-being of others. I tell you the truth, there is no reason, for example, for people to go hungry in the world!

As you are reading this, perhaps you are full, you have eaten, and maybe you have even thrown some food away. Yet there are many who have not eaten for days. You live in a house, yet some make heaven their roof, and in winter there are countless people living on the streets. All because of men’s selfish hearts! We all desire and seek our own good, and we fail to consider the welfare of others. Each man for himself, says the world. But what does the Word of God say?

My dear beloved, the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God. The quest for finding the will of God is ever in our hearts. From the Jews to the Christians, and all those who believe in God, are ever in a restless quest to please God; to find out what is the will of God is for our lives. And in doing so, we often overlook the simplicity of the Word of God: from Genesis to Revelation, God is teaching us two primary things, and if we get them, it will be well with our souls. Those who were privileged to be alive at the time when God visited the earth in a human form had the privilege to ask Him, what does God expects from us? What is it that God wants us to do?

“’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’” Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:36-40)

My dear beloved, this is it. It cannot get simpler than this! Two things God requires from us. If we divide the Bible into two parts, we may safely say that the first thing God teaches us is to love Him. The second thing He teaches us is to love others as ourselves:

The 1^st part teaches us to love the LORD our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds and with all our strength.

The 2^nd part teaches us to love others as we love ourselves.

And in this is the whole Bible--forget about prophecy, visions, revelation, knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, principles and the like. If we fail to obey these two commandments, we can forget about the rest. God is love, and where there is no love, God is not there. Everything you do, if it is not motivated by love, I tell you the truth, you are doing it all by yourself. God is not there. He cannot work through a selfish heart to accomplish His good pleasures. This is what this 40 days’ journey is all about, that at the feet of the Lord Jesus, the Greatest teacher ever, we may learn the perfect will of God for our lives. And then we must do it, that we may be effective servants, fulfilling our ministries according to the will of God. To make it simple, God gave Moses two tablets: one to govern our relationships with God, the other one to govern our relationships with each other. The latter is what the Golden Rule is all about. The six commandments that God wrote with His finger to govern our relationships with each other are summarized into this:

“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”

(Luke 6:31)

And out of the six commandments God gave us for governing our relationships with each other, one is something we must do while five are things we must not do.

This is the golden rule:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’” (Ephesians 6:1-3)

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)

And why has God given us the Golden Rule?

“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5)

So that there may be equality:

“But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.” (2 Corinthians 8:14)

And that we strengthen each other, considering our own weaknesses:

And what is the law of Christ?

“If you love Me, keepMy commandments.” (John 14:15)

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well.” (James 2:8)

My dear beloved, this is the will of God for our lives: that the same way we want to be treated, even so we must do to others:

· If you want to be loved, love others.

· If you want to be joyous, be the joy of others.

· If you want to have peace, pursue peace with others.

· If you want others to be extremely patient with you, be extremely patient with others.

· If you want others to be kind to you, be kind to others.

· If you want others to be good to you, be good to others.

· If you want others to be faithful to you, be faithful to others.

· If you want others to be gentle toward you, be gentle toward others.

· If you want other to exercise self-control toward you, exercise self-control toward others.

My dear beloved, this is the will of God for our lives, and if we fulfill the Golden Rule, God will be well pleased with us:

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10)

My own definition of love is: “The ability to put others before ourselves.”

Finally my dear beloved, though we live in a world that promotes self-love rather than loving others as ourselves, it must not be so with us, for the very seal of authentication of our discipleship to Christ is described as love for one another:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34-35)

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; Love does not parade itself,

is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen!

Meditation: Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them!

Prayer points: LORD, please create in me a new heart and a steadfast spirit. Please fill my heart with Your love, and please teach me to love others as myself. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward, that in everything I do, I will consider the well-being of others first, and learn to put others before myself. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Day 31 Divine Benevolence

2011-10-06T22:54:00.001-07:00

Day 31

Divine Benevolence

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!.”

(Matthew 7:7-11)

Divine Benevolence is the 23^rd pillar

Divine Benevolence is the 23^rd pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, Divine Benevolence is God’s good will toward us, His kindness and charity that He bestows upon us daily, whether we are good or bad. God our Father has emptied heaven and has put it inside Christ, and has given Christ to us. There is nothing good left in heaven that is not in Christ; the fullness of God’s love, kindness, mercy, peace, glory, blessings, riches, and every other good thing, God has put it in Christ, so that whoever has the Son, the Lord Jesus, has everything, and should lack nothing. Therefore the holy apostle Paul exhorts us:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Everything that we need is in Christ; however, human pride and presumption prevents us from receiving that which has already been given to us.

The Lord Jesus has commanded us to ask, not to assume or presume or rest on fate thinking ‘whatever will be, will be,’ or ‘If God wants to give me, He will give me.’ Not so my dear beloved. That is presumption. The Lord Jesus has commanded us: Ask, and it will be given to you, for everyone who asks, receives. Now to him who does not ask, you know the answer to that! For it is written:

“…In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

God knows everything about us, so why must we still let our requests be made known to God? Because it benefits us. As we pour our hearts in prayer with tears to God, our hearts are cleansed and relieved from all the burdens we are carrying. Supplication means to beg, as there is no place for pride before God. This is what the Lord Jesus means by: “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Now, seeking is not just looking for; seeking is deeper than that. It is searching, with full attention, in a way that not finding the object is NOT an option. And he who seeks finds, and he who does not seek, well, you know the answer to that!

And again He says:

“Knock and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Now, truly speaking my dear beloved, none of us knocks on a door just once. Even the polite way of knocking on a door consists of three knocks. You cannot knock once and expect people to hear you and open for you; you must knock until they hear you and then open for you! So it is also with our Heavenly Father. We must knock (pray) at least three times a day, every day. Supplication is praying for the same thing over and over again, until you receive, until you find what you are seeking, and the door that you are knocking is opened to you!

Even our Lord Jesus Christ made supplication unto the Father in His time of agony, for our sakes, that we may have strength in times of agony and endure affiliations, and by prayer and supplication we may patiently wait for God’s great deliverance. Hallelujah! Amen!

“Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear.” (Hebrews 5:7)

For it is written:

“Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done’ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.” (Matthew 26:38-44)

For:

“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9)

My dear beloved, let us therefore not faint, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make our requests known to God! Let us have confidence in the name of the One who was tested to the limit on our behalf, yet was found blameless, and through suffering and prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears, has perfected our salvation through faith. And He has become the author and finisher of our faith, that we, by the name and the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, may appear before God blameless. Then may we present our requests before God, with confidence and eternal hope that God will hear us and grant us our petitions according to His will in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen!

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Finally my dear beloved, it is not that God does not know all our needs. It is, however, the will of God that we abide daily in His presence, and prayer and supplication will bring us closer to God. For if we endure trials and tribulations through prayer and supplication, in due time we shall be made perfect and receive a great reward. For we know that according to (Romans 5:3-5) that trials and tribulations produce perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope; now hope is the right hand of faith, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we havepeace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5)

And if we have hope in God, we are able to endure all things, for we know in whom we believe, and we know that all things are possible with God. Amen! Let us therefore have this confidence in our hearts through Christ who strengthens us. Amen!

To all of you going through difficult times, trials, and tribulations, please rest with us, as we trust on God’s mercy, grace and love which is from Christ Jesus our Lord. God will hear our prayers and deliver us, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
        “For yet a little while,
      And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
        Now thejust shall live by faith;
      But if anyone draws back,
      My soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:35:39)

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of living.

Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strength your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalms 27:13-14)

And again:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always. Amen!

Meditation: Be still, and know that I am God; ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Prayer points: LORD, please give me strength and courage to pursue Your righteousness. Please help me to persevere until I receive, find, and the door is opened for me. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward that in all things, I will ask, seek, and knock, until I receive, find, and it is opened for me. I will stand still and see the salvation of the LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Day 30 Stewardship of the Truth

2011-10-06T02:39:00.000-07:00

Day 30

Stewardship of the Truth

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)

Stewardship of the Truth is the 22^th pillar

Stewardship of the Truth is the 22^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, God our Father has saved us from the world and has entrusted us with the Truth. He has made us stewards rather than owners of this Truth. And it is required of a steward that he should be found faithful with the Truth and the gifts God has entrusted unto him:

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.” (Matthew 25:14-15)

My dear beloved, Christ went to heaven and He has entrusted us with treasures which are both His Truth and abilities for us to trade in this world, not to keep to ourselves nor hide in the ground, but with a willing heart rendering service as to God and not to men.

My dear beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ will return. This is guaranteed, whether we are ready or not. He is coming. And He will require an account from each one of us of what we have done with the Gospel (Truth) that was entrusted to us and how we have used the abilities (gifts) that He has given us. For the Lord has entrusted us with a diversity of gifts, some more, some less, but there is not a single Christian walking around without any gift. We all have one gift or several gifts. We are all good at something. If you do not know what your gifts are, ask the Lord Jesus and He will reveal them to you, and God will send people your way to confirm your gift. For example, if you are a good teacher, people will tell you that you are a good teacher; if you sing nicely, people will tell you that you have a lovely voice; and if you cook well, people will tell you that they love your food, and so on. Your gifts will be visible.

Now, it is imperative that you discover your gifts so that you may serve God effectively, for if you are working in a ministry that you were not created to work in, you will frustrate yourself and others. It is like a player who does not know his position on the field; this can cost the team dearly. Beloved, we are all members of the same body. We need each of the members of the body to fulfill their functions. In order for the body to function properly, it must not be robbed of your gift. Please bless us with what you are good at, focus on it, improve it, and practice it day and night, that you may render a perfect service unto God. For the coming of the Master is at hand, and He will ask us to give an account:

“Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” (Matthew 25:16-19)

My dear beloved, if your Bible is collecting dust and it is never opened, and if you feel as an outsider in church and inadequate in the body of Christ at large, you are the one who has hidden your talent in the ground. My dear beloved, I urge you, for Christ’s sake, dust off your Bible and open the Light that will light your path. It will work inside you first. Then it will work in others through you, as you also trade your talent and multiply it, fulfilling your ministry and being a good steward of the Truth.

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)

“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)

What is Truth?

Beloved, the body of Christ is broad and there are a lot of denominations, and each one claims to have the Truth: some have first truth, some have the middle truth, and others have the end time truth. But God, who alone is Faithful, has given us His Holy Spirit to lead us to the whole Truth. So what is the whole Truth then?

Let us settle this matter once and for all, and let us ask the Lord Jesus who alone is infallible. Lord Jesus, what is Truth?

“I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

There you have it, my dear beloved, from the only infallible source.

The truth is not some doctrines of churches, or what prophets and prophetesses wrote, or what pastors, bishops, or reverends write.

My dear beloved the Truth is a person. The Truth, as we have heard from the Lord, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And he who does not have Christ in his heart does not have the Truth. It does not matter what someone says or preaches. If he does not have Christ dwelling in his heart through the power of the Holy Spirit, he does not have the Truth.

How do you know if someone has Christ in his heart or not?

Let us ask the Lord Jesus, who alone is infallible. Amen!

Lord Jesus, how can we know if You are dwelling in someone’s heart? What should we look for?

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

There you have it, my dear beloved, from the Lord Himself. “Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.” And the greatest fruit is love. If a church or a professed Christian does not have love in their hearts, they do not have the Truth, they have something else not worth mentioning.

My dear beloved, the Truth is a PRECIOUS, SACRED TREASURE THAT WE MUST KEEP IN OUR HEARTS! The Truth is Christ, the Word of God, the Bible. Therefore, let us guard it in our hearts. The Truth, like God, is eternal.

There is nothing like it, and there will never be anything like it! For the Truth changes lives. I, Ramos Talaya, can testify to that. It changed my life for the better. I will never be the same again, forever. Hallelujah! Glory be to God! Amen!

The Truth improves lives, strengthens hearts, fixes people, repairs homes, heals souls, spirits and bodies, motivates, and gives hope. When Truth is believed it makes weak people feel strong; worried people find peace; confused people find answers; intelligent people grow wiser; and it makes even the fool gain wisdom. Hallelujah! Praise the LORD! Give glory to Him Who alone is eternal Wise. Amen!

And this Truth, my dear beloved, God has entrusted to us, to keep in our hearts and to use it for the benefit of mankind. We are not to dispute with each other: Who knows best? Who knows more? Or who knows less? “My church doesn’t teach it that way,” “I was not taught that way,” we may say. Frankly, my dear beloved, it does not matter how you were taught, the question is whether or not you agree with the Scriptures now that your eyes are open! If not, cast the lie off from you and embrace the Truth which is the Word of God, the Bible, which is the only infallible source!

Everything, my dear beloved, must be tested by the Word of God. If the Word of God does not support it, cast it off from you, including this book that you are reading. Everything must be tested by the Word of God! Do not just believe what you are told, or hear, or read. Test it all by the Word of God. Amen!

“…Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.” (1 Timothy 6:20)

“That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14)

Finally, my dear beloved, your life is too precious in God’s eyes for you to sell your soul so freely to deceitful and corrupt people. You are not your own, my dear beloved. You were bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. You have no right to sell your soul to anyone as you are not yours, my dear beloved. Again, you belong to God:

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your bodyand in your spirit, which are Gods.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” (Colossians 2:16-18)

“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (Ephesians 4:14)

My dear beloved, keep the Truth of God in your heart that you may be able to stand against these evil doctrines, falsely called truth, knowledge, visions, prophecies, interpretations, and the like. The Truth, my dear beloved, is the Word of God, and God’s Word is the only thing that will last forever. Amen!

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Mark 13:31)

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen!

Meditation: I am a steward of the Truth, the manifold grace of God!

Prayer points: LORD, please reveal to me the gifts and abilities You have given me to fulfill the ministry You have given me. Lord, please help me to be a faithful servant, that it may be well with my soul on the Day of Judgment. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward to be a faithful steward of the Truth. I shall keep the Word of God in my heart and use it for the benefit of mankind. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Day 29 Charitableness (Do Not Judge)

2011-10-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

Day 29

Charitableness (Do Not Judge)

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

(Matthew 7:1-5)

Charitableness is the 21^st pillar

Charitableness is the 21^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, it is human nature which is marred by sin that prompts us to look down on others. It is especially us who believe, because of God’s mercy over our lives, who tend to look down on others. We must realize that by His grace alone, God saved us from the world and delivered us from the wrath which is to come, and placed our feet on the Rock which is Christ, a place of safety in a world that is sinking ground. And by His truth alone, God opened our eyes that we may see. And now that we can see, we are ashamed of the things we have done in ignorance, but we thank God our Father that through Jesus Christ our Lord, He has forgiven us. Not only that, God also has forgotten our sins, not because we are now good, nor because we have done any works of righteousness, but for His own sake, God will not remember our sins:

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgression for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

Hallelujah! Thank You, Father. We worship You for who You are, a Righteous God, so Great, Mighty, and Powerful, and yet so Kind and Gentle to us sinners, so Loving and Merciful to feeble creatures such as ourselves,

who so often are ungrateful and rebellious. Yet You love us with an everlasting love.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for bearing our sins on the cross. Please forgive us our ingratitude at some times, for words cannot express our gratitude to You, oh Lord Jesus, but we can only surrender our lives freely unto You, Lord Jesus, for You are worthy to be praised and worshipped. Amen! For it is written:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,
      Or the son of man that You take care of him?
        You have made him a little lower than the angels;
      You have crowned him with glory and honor,
       And set him over the works of Your hands.
        You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

(Hebrews 2:6-8)

And this love that God has for man, in our sinfulness and imperfection, has nothing to do with what man did or will do or even can do, but according to God’s great love; the width and the length and the depth and the height of the great love of God toward man.

For in His divine wisdom, God decided not to wait for us to do any good works, which we could not and cannot do without Him; but rather God decided to love us in our sinful and weak state, so that our relationship with Him should not be based on that which we can do for God, but rather, our relationship with God should be based on God’s great love and mercy toward us, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We should, then, not trust in what we can do for God, but rather trust in that which God has done for us, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!

No flesh should boast before Him, and none of us should see ourselves as better than the other, for who among us has salvation that we have not received as a gift? And if we did receive it, it means that it is not from us: it is not ours, it was given to us. Why then do we boast against others who have not yet received or are struggling to receive this gift? For we all received it, so let us not judge anymore, as if somehow we have done anything to be where we are. For it is written:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Therefore, my dear beloved, let us not judge one another anymore. Let us not find fault toward each other considering who may be the worse sinner, and discussing who is going to heaven and who is not. The LORD is the Judge of us all.

But rather, my dear beloved, let us bear with one another. Those who are strong must bear with those who are weak, taking care of those who fall into sin with love and gentleness, teaching them the way of the LORD with all patience and meekness, considering that we ourselves have weaknesses. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, is ever patient and gentle with us, correcting us in love with the Truth that we should not perish but be saved. Even so my beloved, we ought to love one another and bear with one another, and bear each other’s burdens. Those who are weak and continue to fall into sin, let us not gossip about them, nor speak evil of them. Let no one chase those who are weak out of the church. For in due time Christ died for the ungodly, for Christ did not come to die for the righteous, but for sinners: big sinners as well as small sinners. He died for all sinners.

Now, if a brother or a sister is continually falling into sin, but still continues to come to church, it is because the Holy Spirit is bringing them there and they want to change; however, they may not even know this. Therefore, what they need is a support system, people who love them, care for them, and understand them, for they are broken and seeking to be loved. Let us, therefore, put aside all malice and prejudice and give them a big hug, and love them, care about them, find out what their needs are, and what challenges they are facing. And when we have this mind, the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom concerning what to say or do or how to help. However, before that happens, we must genuinely love one another and bear with one another, putting others before ourselves and not pleasing ourselves:

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:1-4)

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.” (Galatians 6:1-5)

“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

(1 Peter 4:8-11)

JUDGE NOT!

Judge not, my dear beloved, nor let us be faultfinding with one another, for there is One Lawgiver who will judge us all according to our works. Let us therefore not judge others or ourselves:

“There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:12)

My dear beloved, we all belong to God, the weak and the strong, and it is God who decides who is a good servant and who is not, for it is written:

“Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4)

For if we continue to judge ourselves righteous and others unrighteous, the LORD will rebuke us, for it is written again:

“You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters.” (Ezekiel 16:52)

“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

Finally, my dear beloved, we will all stand one day before the Judgment seat of Christ to give an account of all the things we have done to our bodies, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And not only that, we will also give an account of every evil word spoken against others and all the evil we have committed to others and to ourselves. Let us, therefore, not judge prematurely anymore. Let us leave the judgment to God, who in due time will declare who is righteous and who is wicked, for God alone is the Righteous Judge to whom be the glory forever. Amen!

“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:
      “As I live, says the LORD,
      Every knee shall bow to Me,
      And every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” (Romans 14:10-13)

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5)

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Meditation: Judge not that you be not judged!

Prayer points: LORD, please reveal to me who I really am, that I may be merciful to others, considering myself, that it may be well with my soul on the Day of Judgment. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward, by God’s grace, to put aside all malice and prejudice, all gossip, and judgmental attitude, toward others and myself, and through Christ who strengthens me I will learn to love others just as they are in Christ. And that I will love myself just as I am in Christ. Amen!

Day 28 Primacy of God’s Kingdom (Seek the Kingdom First)

2011-10-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

Day 28

Primacy of God’s Kingdom

(Seek the Kingdom First)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

(Matthew 6:33)

Primacy of God’s Kingdom is the 20^th pillar

Primacy of God’s Kingdom is the 20^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, we are living in one of the most, if not the most, materialistic era of mankind’s history. The prophecy that the Holy Spirit spoke through our beloved apostle Paul is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

We are living in such a time, my dear beloved, for the desire to be rich has increased tremendously in the hearts of men. Men are lovers of money and are prepared to do anything to get hold of it. This is fueled by the desire to have power, for as we say: “money is power.” Men desire to have power over others, to control others, and ultimately, they desire to be worshipped.

And Satan has placed this evil cancer in the church of God in order to counterfeit the sound doctrine of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who commands us:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

But the devil is saying through his preachers that you must seek riches first and heaven will be added to you!

My dear beloved in the LORD, if men preach this doctrine to you, of such men turn away, for they do not serve our Lord Christ Jesus, but their god is their belly. The doctrine of “let us get rich,” sounds tempting to all of us because of all our diverse needs, until we actually study it, for there is an evil spirit behind this doctrine. The main purpose of this evil doctrine is to remove Christ Jesus our Lord as the center of our faith and the center of our lives. The more we think about getting rich, the less we think about Christ and heaven. The more we pursue money, the further we depart from Christ. And this is exactly what the devil wants--our souls to be lost with him. And because this doctrine is preached prolifically, Christians are yielding to it and are refusing to hear the truth. Even those who once loved Christ Jesus our Lord are departing from the faith in which they believed at one time and are yielding to these deceiving evil spirits and doctrines of demons, and this fulfills another prophecy of the last days:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

But we, my dear beloved, are the children of God. Let us, therefore, not give heed to this doctrine of demons, but let us turn to Christ Jesus our Lord, who laid down His life for us out of love, so that you and I may have eternal life. Let us therefore turn to our first love, even our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, for the salvation of our souls:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

Let us not be greedy, for it is written:

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

My dear beloved, it is time for us to awake from sleep:

“Therefore He says:
      ‘Awake, you who sleep,
      Arise from the dead,
      And Christ will give you light.’

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:14-21)

And again:

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14)

As you can see my dear beloved, it is not time for us to set our hearts on riches which we cannot take to the grave. Rather, it is time to seek God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, surrendering our lives to our Lord Jesus Christ completely, so that we may be found in Him on that great and dreadful Day of the LORD. For otherwise, who can stand? My dear beloved, let us seek God and lay hold of eternal life which is so freely given to us. Let us seek God while He may be found, for it is written:

“Seek the LORD while He may be found,
      Call upon Him while He is near.
        Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
      Let him return to the LORD,
      And He will have mercy on him;
      And to our God,
      For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)

“For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me and live.” (Amos 5:4)

“Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth,
      Who have upheld His justice.
      Seek righteousness, seek humility.
      It may be that you will be hidden
      In the day of the LORD’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

My dear beloved, hear the Word of the LORD:

“Sow for yourselves righteousness;
      Reap in mercy;
      Break up your fallow ground,
      For it is time to seek the LORD,
      Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12)

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Meditation: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer points: LORD, please teach me to put You first in everything I do. Please show me the way in which I should walk and help me to walk in it, oh my God, that it may be well with my soul. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness with all my heart, mind, and soul, until I find You, oh my God. I shall seek You, oh God my Father, through Christ who strengthens me, until I find You, oh my God. Amen!

Day 27 Trustfulness (Faith)

2011-10-02T22:30:00.001-07:00

Day 27

Trustfulness (Faith)

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

(Matthew 6:25-32)

Trustfulness is the 19^th pillar

Trustfulness, or faith, is the 19^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Trust, my dear beloved, is the most important ingredient in any relationship. Likewise, trust in God is the most important aspect of our relationship with our Heavenly Father, for nothing pleases God so much as complete trust in Him. It moves God when a man made of dust, a mere mortal, stands still before Him and looks up to heaven and says, “I put my trust in You, oh my God. Please help me,” even when everything around him circumstantially is falling apart.

Faith compels God to move, to bless, to protect, to deliver, to heal, to save, to strengthen, and to give all that we need as heavenly citizens abiding on earth. Like I said before, faith is the currency used in heaven. If you need anything from heaven, heaven requires faith from you. Anything that you need, if it is according to God’s will, and you have faith, you will get it in Jesus’ name. Amen! But without faith, you are broke. You cannot please God; therefore, you cannot be rewarded, and you certainly cannot access all the heavenly resources.

For it is written:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The definition of faith according to the Scriptures is:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

And this is derived directly from our Lord Jesus Christ’s teachings. For He teaches us that whatever we ask our Father in His name, believing, that shall be given to us. We will receive it:

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22)

To have faith is to believe that whatever you are asking, God is able to do it, and He will do it according to His will. Trust God with all your heart, mind, and soul even when it doesn’t make sense. Believe that His plans for your life are to do you good, to prosper you in all your doings according to His will. Have confidence in God, knowing and believing that God is greater than all, and nothing can touch you unless He allows it. And if God allows it, He will make it work for good to you. Most importantly of all, we must have confidence in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord when we approach the throne of God our Father, holding on into His promise:

“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

We must have confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, which presents us righteous before God, because if we do not approach the throne of God by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, we will remain sinners. And the Scriptures are very clear:

“Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” (John 9:31)

Therefore, my beloved, let us soak and wash ourselves in the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, which presents us blameless, approved and acceptable before God, that God may hear us and grant our petitions, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Again, to have faith is to have total reliance on God and on God alone. That is it. Your first call for help is to God and your last call for help is to God. There is no plan B when it comes to matters of faith. Your hope must be on Christ and on Christ alone. Now, my dear beloved, the question is: do we have faith in God? For I bear you a testimony, that God is faithful all the time. And any believer that lives and has ever lived, can and will testify that God is faithful. He is always there when we need Him, even when we do evil. God is so quick to help us out of trouble. He helps us first, and corrects us later when we are in safety. Hallelujah!

Let us make it even more practical to you my dear beloved. Are you faithful to God? You can answer this question by examining yourself.

Two things I have noticed about us Christians is that most of the time we are:

1) Ungrateful:

We often come to God asking for help and as soon God has blessed us, we forget about God and are quick to go back to our sinful lives.

2) Lacking faith:

Sometimes we ask God and we forget to exercise faith, because for God to be faithful to our requests, we need to have faith in Him.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith is not fate. Faith is not whatever will be, will be. No, faith is to stand on the promises of God, for it is impossible for God to lie. That which God has promised us, God will fulfill; if you stand on His promises by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, and naturally, if you are not living in sin, God will fulfill His promises in Jesus’ name. Amen!!!!

Do you have faith in God?

If you pay close attention to the four gospels in the Bible, you will notice that everyone whom the Lord Jesus helped or healed were those who had faith that the Lord Jesus would be able to heal or help them. That is why prior to, and even after most miracles, the Lord Jesus said:

“Let it be done to you according to your faith” or “As you believe let it be done to you” or “your faith made you well.”

So whatever you are trusting God for to help you with, God is faithful. God will grant you the desires of your heart according to His will, but you must trust God, and you must have faith that He is able to help you. Nothing is impossible to God, but you need to believe, to have faith, and to be faithful to God.

“… But with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

“Jesus said to him, “if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

Now my dear beloved, all means all. Just believe! Praise the LORD. Amen!

My dear beloved, there are two dangerous enemies of faith that you must overcome through Christ who strengthens you if you wish access to the promises of God:

A) Fear

Fear completely destroys and alienates faith. It is hard to move forward by faith if your heart is full of fear. The first thing you must do is to deal with your fear. If you do not deal with your fear, the devil will hold you down, and you will live a defeated Christian life.

My dear beloved, the Word of God gives us seven reasons why we should NOT fear, and I pray that you take them to heart and apply them in your own life in Jesus’ name. Amen!

1) Blessings along the journey of life:

“And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” (Genesis 26: 24)

2) Supplies in famine:

“And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.” (1 Kings 17:13-14)

3) Protection in peril:

“So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’” (2 Kings 6:16)

4) Strength in weaknesses:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you, shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.” (Isaiah 41:10-11)

5) Companionship in trial:

“But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
      And He who formed you, O Israel:
      “ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
      I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
        When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
      And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
      When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
      Nor shall the flame scorch you.”   (Isaiah 43:1-2)

6) Overshadowing care:

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:30-31)

7) Life beyond the grave:

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

The other enemy of faith is doubt:

B) Doubt:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

Finally my dear beloved:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen!

Meditation: Without faith it is impossible to please God!

Prayer points: LORD, please increase my faith. Please help my unbelief. Please help me to believe, trust, rely on, and have confidence in You, oh LORD, with all my heart, mind, and soul. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today to believe, trust, rely on, and have confidence in You, oh LORD my God, with all my heart, mind, and soul, through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 26 Undivided Service

2011-10-01T23:52:00.001-07:00

Day 26

Undivided Service

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

(Matthew 6:24)

Undivided Service is the 18^th pillar

Undivided Service is the 18^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, there is an illusion that comes from the bottomless pit straight into the pulpit which dares to defy God and contradict the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: that we can serve both God and money. But this is a lie. Men do not have the ability to focus on two things at once. If your heart is totally set on serving God, you will not have time to chase money. The reverse is also true. If your heart is set on money and being rich, you will not have time to serve God with all your heart. The devil knows that he cannot corrupt some godly men to stop serving God and lead them to serve money, so he created the ‘prosperity gospel’—supposedly serving God and serving money all at once. But this will never work because it will require the compromising of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave a good confession before Satan:

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Matthew 4:8-10)

My dear beloved, this would not be a real temptation to the Lord Jesus Christ, if that which the devil was offering was not in his power to give.

For it is written again:

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan!’ For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:5-8)

Brethren, in the same way that the devil tempted our Lord Jesus Christ, even so, he is also after us, offering us that which he had offered the Lord Jesus. Christ refused, and this is the example for us to follow. Even today the devil is saying to us:

“All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (Luke 4:6-7)

If riches, money, fame, glory, power, authority, and success are what your heart is seeking, I warn you, my dear beloved, be careful. For the devil is watching all of us, and if you are yielding to these material things, the devil will make an offer to give you all your heart desires for one condition: that you serve him. Oh no, the devil does not want you to leave the church, especially if you are a minister of the gospel. Rather he will tell you what to do: to preach what people want to hear; to entertain the congregation; to make them happy; to tell them Jesus died for them so that they can be materially rich; to preach all things. But he will tell you not to preach salvation through repentance, the power of the cross for deliverance from sin, and that the Holy Spirit was given to us to convict us of our sins and to teach us to cease to do evil and learn to good by the grace of God.

My dear beloved, this gospel as presented by the devil is very dangerous for the salvation of our souls, because it removes Christ from the center of our faith and replaces Him with material riches. And yet, this is the gospel that is being preached by some very popular and very rich preachers.

What is it that the devil wants to accomplish with this?

“How you are fallen from heaven,
      O Lucifer, son of the morning!
      How you are cut down to the ground,
      You who weakened the nations!
        For you have said in your heart:
      ‘I will ascend into heaven,
      I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
      I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
      On the farthest sides of the north;
        I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
      I will be like the Most High.’
        Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
      To the lowest depths of the Pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)

The devil desires to be like God. He desires to receive worship. He wants to be worshiped. But he cannot achieve this by himself nor even with all his demons, so he has deceived some men to work for him, creating all sorts of religious systems all over the world that separate men from God. But he is still not satisfied, because he cannot endure the legacy of Christ Jesus our Lord in our hearts, for though he has corrupted the world, there still remain some faithful to Christ Jesus our Lord: men who will not sell their soul for riches; men who refuse to serve money, but choose rather to serve God.

And the devil is angry with such men. Why?

“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

(Revelation 12:12)

The second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand. So the devil is using all his might to destroy the Church of God, which is pillar of the TRUTH that testifies against all his lies.

The devil needs men and women as his mouthpiece, for he cannot talk directly to us. The devil needs other idols to receive worship, for he cannot be seen by us yet. So he has set up his kingdom that elevates men to the level of God, and because of this the devil receives worship, for if you depart from God, you will worship the devil. There is just no neutral ground. But who is this man that the devil is using to accomplish his evil agenda before the second coming of Christ?

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.” (2 Thessalonians 2: 8-9)

But who will believe the devil?

“And with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

My dear beloved, there are some men who think that they are equal with God, and they desire to be worshiped. They go around deceiving the people for whom Christ died, and they have a very powerful system of support behind them. They will only succeed if we do not have the love of the Truth in our hearts. Let each one of us, therefore, study the Bible individually. God will not leave us nor forsake us. The Holy Spirit will teach us; however, we MUST have the love of Truth in our hearts; a love which comes by studying the Bible daily, in order that our minds may be able to test every spirit whether it is from God or from the wicked one, so that we may not be deceived:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

Do not underrate them, my dear beloved, for this is a very powerful system. Many of them are worshipping with us, but are not of us, for they are workers of the beast, to whom the dragon (devil) gave his power and authority. They are in the church of God to lead us into joining them in worshipping the dragon (devil):

“So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4)

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13: 8)

But hear, oh spiritual Israel, the LORD our God is One. And the LORD our God is commanding us:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Therefore, let us depart from such men and women, and serve the LORD our God with fear and trembling through our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life as a ransom for us to be saved. The devil is trying to pervert the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are having the symptoms of the Galatians:

Finally, my dear beloved, fear not. The LORD our God is with us. And greater is God who lives in our hearts than the devil who is in the world. God has promised us, my dear beloved, that He will not leave us nor forsake us. His protection and blessings will always be over us if we continue in the Truth.

Let us have the love of Truth in our hearts and continue in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all sincerity, who alone has immortality, who alone is blessed God forever. Amen!

“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15) Amen!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen!

Meditation: I shall worship the LORD my God, and Him only I shall serve.

Prayer points: LORD, please reveal Your Truth to me. Give me the spirit of discernment that I may discern good from evil! I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onwards to worship the LORD my God, and Him only shall I serve. Amen!

Day 25 Spiritual Vision

2011-09-30T11:27:00.001-07:00

Day 25

Spiritual Vision

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

(Matthew 6:22-23)

Spiritual Vision is the 17^th pillar

Spiritual Vision is the 17^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, I pray that God opens our spiritual eyes in this ungodly age, that we may see things by faith and not by sight, and that we may discern good from evil in this world where some call good evil and evil good.

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13-16)

Beloved, we are no longer a natural man who walks according to the flesh, but we have been born again through the Spirit of Christ who has opened our spiritual eyes, that we may see and understand that the things we see with our physical eyes were created by Him. We see then through the eyes of faith, by the Spirit which He has given us. We can see Him who is invisible, by faith! Having this mind, let us, therefore, fix our spiritual eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.

For by beholding, we become. Let us, therefore, fix our eyes on the Light, that by beholding the Light we may also become the light of the world through Him who has called us out of darkness so that we should no longer

partake in darkness, but that, through His power, we may be established in the Light.

Therefore, my dear beloved, as it is said: “see no evil, do no evil.” For if by beholding we become, if we then fix our eyes, which are the lights of our bodies, onto that which is evil, we will do evil, for the light of the body is the eye. If your eye is fixed on that which is good, you will do good, but if your eye is fixed on that which is evil, you will do evil. And if your eye, which is the light of your body, is always fixed on that which is evil, oh how great is the darkness in you. For it is written:

“In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.” (Isaiah 29:18)

My dear beloved, that day has passed. For the Light has come into the world and darkness did not comprehend! The cross has been fulfilled, and out of the cross shines the Light which gives light to all men, especially to those who believe in the Light, which is Jesus Christ our Lord! For we were all once blind and in darkness:

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spiritis in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8-10)

And again:

“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:3-5)

Therefore, my beloved:

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them.” (Ephesians 5:6-7)

My dear beloved, stand fast in the calling of God. For the LORD is faithful. Please do not be overwhelmed by the tests and trials that we face in this evil world, for they will work for good to you in due time. In fact, God is deliberately putting you in a position so that your spiritual eyes may open; so that you may see Him who is invisible; so that your faith in Christ may be perfected and established forever; and so that you will no longer live by sight, but by the faith of the Son of God, who died for us. Amen! Thank you Lord Jesus!

Stand fast, therefore, on Him in whom you believe, for if you endure, in due time God will reveal Himself to you, and He will speak that which is good concerning your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Stand fast even as Job who after enduring trials and tribulations, when the thoughts and intents of his heart were put to the test, stood fast trusting and believing Him in whom he believed: in God who lives forever. Amen!

And after Job was tested and found faithful, God revealed Himself to Job and his faith became sight. Hallelujah! Job said, after God revealed Himself to him:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:5) Hallelujah!

Finally my dear beloved, take your eyes off anything that is evil and fix your mind and heart on that which is good. Examine yourself before you think or do anything, watch anything, see anything, read anything, talk anything, or listen to anything. Ask yourself how will it profit you spiritually, and if it does not profit you spiritually and does not bring you closer to God, cast it off from you in Jesus’ name. Amen! And meditate on that which is good, and learn to do good, to watch, to read, to listen, and to say only that which will edify you and others spiritually, and the God of peace will be with you. Amen!

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Amen!

Meditation: I shall walk by faith, not by sight!

Prayer points: LORD, please open my spiritual eyes that I may see You, and by beholding You daily, I shall become like You. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: From today onwards, I commit myself to stop doing, watching, seeing, reading, talking and listening to that which will not profit me spiritually. And from today onward, I commit myself to meditate on that which is good, and to learn to do good, to watch, to read, to listen, and to say only that which will edify myself and others spiritually. May the God of peace be with me and others, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen!

Day 24 Heavenly Investments

2011-09-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Day 24

Heavenly Investments

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(Matthew 6:19-21)

Heavenly Investment is the 16^th pillar

Heavenly Investment is the 16^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. This simply means that where your priorities are, that is where your heart will be. If your priority in this life is to accumulate material riches, your heart is in the world, for wealth on earth is measured in gold. The more gold you accumulate, the richer you are, and it is only in this world that gold has such value. For God decided to make the most precious metal on earth—pavement in heaven! The street in heaven of the city that God has prepared for those who love Him is made up of pure gold!

“The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

(Revelation 21:21)

That means that you step on pure gold, even just walking to grab an apple or a banana off a tree. Hallelujah! My dear beloved, there is no money in heaven, and as you can see gold has no value in heaven. Quite frankly the banks in heaven do not take cash. You cannot deposit cash or gold or any other material. The only currency accepted, that can be deposited into your account in heaven, is FAITH; so the poor of the world can be very rich in heaven. Hallelujah!

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5)

When the Lord Jesus commands us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, He is clearly telling us to have faith. Every time we trust God, we act on faith, we walk by faith, and we believe every word God says. Your bank account in heaven is credited with treasures that cannot be stolen. See, the devil can steal your car, your house, your family, your marriage, and he can destroy all your material possessions so quickly. Just remember Job! But one thing the devil cannot steal from you is your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen! For when you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord with all your heart and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, eternal life is credited into your bank account in heaven. Hallelujah! Praise the LORD!

And when you believe with all your heart, without any doubt, that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, power (grace) is deposited immediately into your heavenly bank account, and all day access is provided to you for your account, so that you may use your funds at any given time on earth to do all things and to endure all things, according to God’s will through Christ who strengthens you. Amen!

The LORD revealed this to a man before, and showed him the balance of power (grace) that was credited into his bank account in heaven due to his faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is what the man said after he saw the Amount of grace credited into his account due to his faith:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

And again:

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

(Beloved, I speak in a manner that we understand, because of the times we are living, the above is my humble attempt to help us understand, the riches and resources we in Christ, if we just believe. Therefore it must not be taken literary. But rather as an illustration. )

My dear beloved, the time is at hand and our salvation is nearer than before when we first believed. Let us therefore not entangle ourselves with this ‘gospel’ the devil has planted in the church, a gospel of celebration and prosperity, lying to us, that we must live our best life now. Of course, this counterfeits the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” (Matthew 16:24-27)

My dear beloved, there are two doctrines that are being preached:

A) The Lord Jesus is saying: forsake the world and all its lusts and desires, glory, honor, riches, temporary pleasures, and all this world has to offer. Have faith in Me and follow Me, for I have prepared a place for you, so that where I am, you also may be.

B) On the other hand, you have the devil saying: life is too short, let us enjoy it; live your best life now. This is all you got. Get money. Be rich, be wealthy. Get honor, prestige and glory. I can give you all your heart desires right here on earth, so why wait for heaven when you can have it all on earth, here and now?

These are the two doctrines that are being proclaimed to you. You must choose one for yourself. You definitely cannot believe both. No one can choose for you. You must choose for yourself. But you must be aware that both choices come with conditions:

If you choose to follow Christ Jesus our Lord you must forsake the world and all its lusts, desires, glory, honor, riches, temporary pleasures, and all that this world has to offer, and follow Christ Jesus our Lord wholeheartedly.

If you choose to believe the devil, and you desire to have it all in this present life, the Bible warns us of the consequences:

And the devil’s condition is:

My dear beloved, we are the followers of Christ Jesus our Lord and together with Him let us say: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘we shall worship the LORD our God, and Him only we shall serve.’ Away with all your worldly riches, and all your lusts and desires, glory, honor, and temporary pleasures.” I choose Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Savior. Amen!

What am I saying then? Should Christians have nothing? God forbid. For it is written:

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)

Silver and gold belong to God, and God gives it to whomever He desires. So if God gives the ability to some Christians to be wealthy to fulfill His purposes, they will be wealthy and they must support the cause of God. We must love them rather than envy them or speak evil of them. For they are brethren, and those whom God has blessed with earthly wealth, must be prepared to be always ready to distribute to those in need, that they may have treasures in heaven. Wealthy disciples are needed in the Kingdom of God, for when the Lord Jesus lay dead in Pilate’s possession, the poor disciples--Peter, John, James and the others--were hiding for fear of the Jews. Then it was necessary for the wealthy disciples to fulfill their duty. That was the reason why the LORD had placed them in that strategic and influential position:

“After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.” (John 19:38-42)

So then, the Lord Jesus was buried by wealthy disciples. Wealthy Christians are often needed to go where poor disciples cannot go. God will provide for Himself wealthy and influential disciples to accomplish His work. What I am saying then, is that being poor is irrelevant and being wealthy is irrelevant. Being poor without being converted and envying those who have more is in vain. Likewise, being rich without being converted and looking down on others is vanity. What then? I say, life is about priorities. What is the most important thing in your life? To make money? Or to follow Christ Jesus our Lord with all your heart and to find out what is the will of God for your life and do it? The wisest man that ever lived once said:

“There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.” (Proverbs 13:7)

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

I pray then:

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:17-20)

Finally, my dear beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world so that through Him we may have eternal life. Let us therefore stop chasing perishable things at the expense of our faith, and by faith let us lay hold of eternal life, for which Christ died for us. Let us, therefore, cast away all evil thoughts and schemes of the evil one, and let us not yield into this fashion of loving money, which is a root of all evil, lest we fall into temptation to be rich and depart from the living God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: Where my priorities are, there my heart will also be: is it Christ or is it the perishable things of the world?

Prayer points: LORD, please give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Please open the eyes of my understanding, that I may comprehend the riches of Your glory and the inheritance that You have prepared for me in Christ. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself, from today onward, to seek the kingdom of God first above all things and to follow Jesus Christ my Lord with all my heart, mind, and soul. Amen!

Day 23 Fasting

2011-09-28T22:56:00.001-07:00

Day 23

Fasting

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

(Matthew 6:16-18)

Fasting is the 15^th pillar

Fasting is the 15^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, fasting is going without food, and often without drink as well, for a period of time and for a stated purpose. Fasting is an act of worship, a sacrifice we offer to God for our own benefit. It is a way of saying to God that we are serious about whatever we are asking, whether it is for forgiveness, deliverance, healing, or anything that you desire so much and for which you need God’s divine intervention!

But this privilege of fasting must not be abused and it must be done in a Biblical manner. Fasting must not be done for selfish ambitions, nor done recklessly, nor for disputing among men about who is fasting more often or who is fasting longer. Fasting must be done God’s way. God rebuked the Jews because of their continual offering of sacrifices and prayers to Him without repentance, and He refused to accept their sacrifices and prayers, though they offered many:

THE REBUKE:

“’To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?’

Says the LORD.
‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.

      “When you come to appear before Me,
      Who has required this from your hand,
      To trample My courts?
        Bring no more futile sacrifices;
      Incense is an abomination to Me.
     The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
      I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
        Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
      My soul hates;
      They are a trouble to Me,
      I am weary of bearing them.
       When you spread out your hands,
      I will hide My eyes from you;
      Even though you make many prayers,
      I will not hear.
      Your hands are full of blood.’” (Isaiah 1:11-15)

My dear beloved, sacrifices can in fact become an abomination to God. The Jews wanted to continue to offer sacrifices and prayers to God, but they wanted to do so while in their sins. Even so, they expected God to accept their sacrifices and answer their prayers, but God told them:

“When you spread out your hands,
      I will hide My eyes from you;
      Even though you make many prayers,
      I will not hear.
      Your hands are full of blood.” (Isaiah 1:15)

Even so with us Christians: we want to offer sacrifices of fasting and prayers to God while yet in our sins, while we commit fornication, while we bribe, while we steal, and while we do all sorts of evil. Then we come before God and offer sacrifice of fasting and prayer and fully expect God to accept our sacrifices and answer our prayers. The same answer God gave to the Jews is given to us, for the scriptures are written for our sake, so that we learn from the scriptures and we do not commit the same mistakes the Jews did. For it is written:

“For I am the LORD, I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6a)

But we thank God for His love, mercies, and kindness; that He is true to His promise “I will never leave nor forsake you.” For though He does not accept our sacrifices and prayers in our sins, He instructs us what to do, that all may be well with us, that our sacrifices of fasting may be accepted and that our prayers may be heard and answered. In Jesus’ name. Amen! Hallelujah!

THE INSTRUCTION:

       “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
      Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
      Cease to do evil,
        Learn to do good; …
              “Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the LORD…” (Isaiah 1:16-18)

THE PROMISE:

      “…Though your sins are like scarlet,
      They shall be as white as snow;
      Though they are red like crimson,
      They shall be as wool.”   (Isaiah 1:18)

THE PRIZE OF OBEDIENCE AND THE CONSEQUENCE OF DISOBEDIENCE:

     “If you are willing and obedient,
      You shall eat the good of the land;
      But if you refuse and rebel,
      You shall be devoured by the sword”;
      For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:19-20)

Let us, therefore, come to the LORD, and if we have sinned against Him, let us first offer a peace offering sacrifice, that is, the confession of our sins coming out of our mouths, that we may obtain the promise that says: “Your sins shall be as white as snow.”

Let us, therefore, come confessing before the Lord that our sins may be as white as snow, and that we also may obtain the prize of obedience. For God promises:

“If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land.”

(Isaiah 1:19)

My dear beloved, if we do not follow the instructions of the LORD, though we offer many sacrifices of fasting and make many prayers, these sacrifices will not be accepted and our prayers will not be heard nor answered. Then we will ask like the Jews:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice? (Isaiah 58:3)

Then the LORD will answer us:

      “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
      And exploit all your laborers.
        Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
      And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
      You will not fast as you do this day,
      To make your voice heard on high.
        Is it a fast that I have chosen,
      A day for a man to afflict his soul?
      Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
      And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
      Would you call this a fast,
      And an acceptable day to the LORD?
        “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
      To loose the bonds of wickedness,
      To undo the heavy burdens,
      To let the oppressed go free,
      And that you break every yoke?
       Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
      And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
      When you see the naked, that you cover him,
      And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
        Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
      Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
      And your righteousness shall go before you;
      The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
       Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
      You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am...’   (Isaiah 58:3-9)

Finally, my dear beloved, let us lay aside every weight, every sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace with fasting and prayer, with weeping and mourning, and abstain from any form of fleshly pleasure, that we may obtain mercy in this time of great need, for the LORD is faithful and just to forgive ALL our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord and to bless us according to His good pleasure. In the name of Jesus. Amen!

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
      “Turn to Me with all your heart,
      With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
        So rend your heart, and not your garments;
      Return to the LORD your God,
      For He is gracious and merciful,
      Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
      And He relents from doing harm.
        Who knows if He will turn and relent,
      And leave a blessing behind Him—
      A grain offering and a drink offering
      For the LORD your God?
        Blow the trumpet in Zion,
      Consecrate a fast,
      Call a sacred assembly;
       Gather the people,
      Sanctify the congregation,
      Assemble the elders,
      Gather the children and nursing babes;
      Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
      And the bride from her dressing room.
       Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
      Weep between the porch and the altar;
      Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
      And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
      That the nations should rule over them.
      Why should they say among the peoples,
      ‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,
      And pity His people.
        The LORD will answer and say to His people,
      “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,
      And you will be satisfied by them…” (Joel 2:12-19)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: Fasting is an act of worship, a sacrifice we offer to God for our own benefit!

Prayer points: LORD, please teach me to fast according to Your will. Oh my God, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward to learn and obey the instructions of the LORD my God; to fast according to His will; to find out what is acceptable in the eyes of the LORD, and do it through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 22 Prayer

2011-09-27T22:51:00.001-07:00

Day 22

Prayer

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

      Our Father in heaven,
      Hallowed be Your name.
        Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done
      On earth as it is in heaven.
        Give us this day our daily bread.
        And forgive us our debts,
      As we forgive our debtors.
       And do not lead us into temptation,
      But deliver us from the evil one.
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

(Matthew 6:5-15)

Prayer is the 14^th pillar

Prayer is the 14^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, prayer is a two way communication with God. Amen! Prayer is the most powerful outlet God has given us. Prayer is like a spiritual minister: when you pray, you release spiritual power that is directed according to your request. And that is the reason the devil has attacked prayer so much. The devil will do anything in his power to keep your prayer time short and shallow, and if you would allow him, the devil would love that you do not pray at all.

The most powerful men on earth are those who are always on their knees.

The devil knows that you are only weak until you go on your knees, for temptation is a door and prayer is the key that shuts it. Hallelujah! If you are struggling to overcome temptations, sins, vices, bad habits, marital problems, financial problems, and anything else as Christians, please do check your prayer life.

I am not saying that people who pray do not have problems. The difference is that as we pray daily and submit our petitions to God, He directs our steps out of any problem. We must develop a steadfast prayer life, an open two way communication with God, because, though we can share the truth, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with people, only God can convict hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, and only God can change people’s hearts. So we ought to spend a lot of time in prayer for all our brothers and sisters, for all our ministries and projects. The good thing about prayer is that prayer is universal. You can pray for anyone from anywhere in the world at anytime, and God will hear and answer all your prayers. How wonderful is that? Thank You, Oh LORD, for Your faithfulness. Amen!

Now, first things first. There is time for everything under the sun. There are times for microwave prayers, and there are times for real and sincere prayers! Microwave prayers are what we do too much of in this generation. We are so busy and have so much to do, that prayer must be squeezed into our tight schedule. For we live in a microwave world, and even our prayers have to be fast and short. No time to waste, even in our relationship with God. “Got my life to live.”

How foolish are we! If we only knew where we were going, if we only had God’s divine favor, all would be well. My dear beloved, all things belong to God. I repeat: all things belong to God. All the seemingly good things you are chasing with all your might, these things belong to God and He gives to whomever He desires.

You dash off without spending enough time with God, and you expect His divine favor upon you. This is like passing the CEO at reception without giving him proper attention when he was trying to speak with you; not giving him enough of your time, leaving him at the reception and rushing into his office looking for a job! That is foolish! And yet, that is what we do. We leave God behind and off we go, and we expect God to intervene for us? I tell you the truth: all things are of God. Everything your heart desires, God has got it, and He can give it to you anytime!

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)

Therefore, my dear beloved, let us stop chasing perishables at the expense of our quality time with God, for those things are rightfully ours if we become one with the owner--God. I tell you the truth: I spent most of my life on this earth chasing perishable things and found none worthy of keeping. I even told God that He must wait until I built my empire first, then I would come and serve Him, and God just laughed at me: “This fool is looking for things that are in My hands, but he is giving Me his back and is looking the other way. How can he not see this?”

God allowed me to go and make a fool of myself, a son of a King going from one place to another, begging in the world, working as a servant, trying to get someplace in the world, when I left ALL things at home. When the fullness of time in my life had come, God commanded that everything that made me comfortable be removed from me. All things were taken away from me, one by one, until there was nothing between myself and God. Then God said to me, “seek me with all your heart and you shall find Me,” and I sought the LORD with all my heart with tears night, day and noon, until I found Him. And when I found Him, I came to this realization: how could I have been so blind for so long?

My dear beloved, God must remove the things we think we have, so that He can give us the things that we need. Please do not fight Him. You will thank Him later. For I tell you boldly in the Lord Jesus, I do not chase money, money chases me: people wake me up to give me money; people wait while I pray to give me money. As I write these messages, I am called to go fetch money. Things come to me, I do not chase them. Why? Because I am special? NO. It is because I chose God above all else and I have accepted that I am indeed a son of a King! Hallelujah! Praise the LORD! He is worthy to be praised. Amen! In no way I am suggesting laziness, but on the contrary, that we should work hard, only with the LORD.

Beloved, I do not say this to boast in the flesh, but rather as a testimony of what God has done in my life, so that you may believe that I speak the truth in Christ and I lie not. Amen!

Devotional life

We must develop a steadfast prayer life, a two way communication with God. We must pray at least three times a day: evening and morning and at noon.

“Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He [Jesus] went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

“Now it came to pass in those days that He [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.” (Psalm 5:3)

“I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.” (Psalm 119:147)

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” (Acts 16:25)

Will you pray earnestly, my dear beloved so that the foundations of your prison may be shaken, and that the doors may be opened and that your chains be loosed? In Jesus’ name. Amen!

My dear beloved, there is power in prayer. Don’t underestimate it. Don’t be lazy to pray. Ask God to wake you up and give you strength and courage in prayer and He will give you everything you need to maintain a steadfast prayer life. However, God will not force you to pray. Prayer must be out of your own will. You must get out of the bed yourself. So let’s GET UP in Jesus’ name. Amen!

The Bible states 3 o’clock at noon as the hour of prayer. So if you can, join in at 3pm, as God’s worshipers offer prayers and supplications daily. Please do so with us. Amen!

Conditions for God-pleasing prayer:

1) Whole-heartedness:

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

2) Contrition:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
      You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
      “ If you take away the yoke from your midst,
      The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness.” (Isaiah 58:9)

3) Faith:

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24)

4) Righteousness:

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

5) Obedience:

“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

(1 John 3:22)

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Finally, my dear beloved, let us use this powerful outlet that God has given us for our own benefit, that God may change situations around us through our prayers in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Let us, therefore, not be lazy anymore and full of excuses, when it is time for sweet hour of prayer. But with all diligence, let us seek God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, with the confidence that He will hear us in Jesus’ name. Amen! So when you pray, you must allow God to answer you while you pray. Pray and be still and allow God to reply, like a conversation with your earthly father!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen!

Meditation: Prayer is a two way communication with God. I talk to Him and I must listen to Him.

Prayer points: LORD, please help me to develop a steadfast prayer life. Please give me courage and strength to pursue Your righteousness. Please teach me to pray. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself from today onward to start a steadfast prayer life—evening and morning and noon --through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 21 Almsgiving (Giving to the Poor)

2011-09-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Day 21

Almsgiving (Giving to the Poor)

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

(Matthew 6:1-4)

Giving to the Poor is the 13^th pillar

Almsgiving is the 13^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, giving to the poor is a wonderful thing, for almsgiving is both a privilege and a requirement. However, the Lord Jesus warns us that it must be done to please God, not men! For in truth I tell you, one of the greatest diseases we inherited from sin is the fleshly desire to be praised by men, to be glorified by men, to be seen as good by men, and all this leads to the desire of being worshiped, which then takes the place of God. We quickly stop being a worshiper and start desiring to be worshiped! And this is the devil’s greatest sin, the sin that cost him heaven. For it violates the 1^st Commandment:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Giving to the poor is an act of human kindness. God expects us to bear fruit, and kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. God commands us to do so:

“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.” (Deuteronomy 15:7)

For:

“Blessed is he who considers the poor;
         The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive,
         And he will be blessed on the earth;
         You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies”

(Psalm 41:1-2)

And:

“Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13)

Therefore, let us do good and give to the poor, only let us do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, that we may please God our Father. Let us not do good to please men, for selfish ambitions, to gain favor from men and to be called good among men, or to get a promotion in the church and in the community. Let us put aside all selfish ambitions, and do it all to please God, not men, for God searches the heart. Let us serve God with a loyal heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.

If you give to the poor to please Him, He will be found by you; however, if you give to the poor to please men, He will cast you off, as He did to Ananias and Sapphira who did a good thing but with an evil and selfish intent: to gain praise from men and to be called good. They acted out of envy, because Joses, had done a good deed which was well pleasing to God, and the Apostles named Barnabas (the Son of Encouragement), and all brethren were talking well of Barnabas. Ananias and Sapphira coveted the praise that was rightfully given to Barnabas because he did good to please God, but Ananias and Sapphira wanted to please men:

“And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ She said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.” (Acts 4:36-37; Acts 5:1-11)

Let us, therefore, have fear and do the will of God from the heart, laying aside all malice and evil intent, serving God with fear and trembling, that our good deeds may be acceptable in the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Let us, therefore, do all things with our hearts set to bring glory to God our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us therefore shake off this casual attitude which is so prevalent in this current generation toward God. We are so casual in regard to God in this generation that we have lost the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom. No wonder why this generation is full of knowledge but no wisdom. For everything in this generation, there is a “how to”: how to do this and how to do that. What about us fearing God, repenting and turning to God with all our hearts, minds and souls, and standing still and seeing the salvation of the LORD? Again I say, let us fear God:

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6-7)

Finally my dear beloved, it is time to:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

It is high time for us to go back to the basics of our faith; Christianity is all about loving God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and all our strength, and then loving others as we love ourselves. Even as those who came before us, let us be of one heart and one soul to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32)

Let us, therefore, love God by loving others. Let us, therefore, do good, as to the LORD, and not to men. Let our good deeds be seasoned with love, for without love, all that we do is in vain:

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: Though I give all my goods to feed the poor, but have not love in my heart, this profits me nothing.

Prayer points: LORD, please help me to do all things according to Your will, and please fill my heart with Your love, that everything I do, I will do with love and in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I commit myself to do all things to please God, not men or myself. And from today, everything I do, I will do with love through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!

Day 20 Divine Standard

2011-09-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

Day 20

Divine Standard

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Divine Standard is the 12^th pillar

Divine Standard is the 12^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”(1 Peter 1:15-16)

Beloved, God our Father has set a divine standard for all of us who believe, that is, that we all must be transformed into to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And there is no compromising of His Divine Standard, for if there was another way, I tell you the truth, Christ died in vain. If God could bring us to heaven just as we are, there would have been no reason for Christ to be made Man, and to be tested to the limits and yet to come out victorious over sin and death, setting an example that if we follow Christ’s steps, we also can be victorious over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no other way for God to bring us to heaven, but to transform us fully. That is, we must completely die as descendents of Adam and be born again in Christ. For God is working in us, both to will and do His good pleasures until we are all fully transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the first born from the dead, that is from the earth, and who has shown us that it is possible (through Him) to be perfect even as God is perfect, in the midst of an ungodly and crooked generation!

“Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)

And this, my dear beloved, is the will of God for our lives: that we come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And God will accomplish this in our lives, if we are to make it to heaven!

And the process that God uses to accomplish His eternal purpose is called sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart, to be made holy. Being set apart by God is not always a pleasant experience, but it is necessary, and no one will enter heaven without being made holy by God.

Why?

Because God has saved us from spiritual Egypt, and has set us on the way to the real Canaan. However, we still want to go back to Egypt, and this mindset that Egypt is still an option, that is that we can still go back and serve the devil, makes the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of no effect. So the Egyptian mindset must be removed, until we realize that going back is not an option, until the faith of Christ is developed in us, that we may endure the journey into spiritual Canaan. For God takes no pleasure in those who go back:

The truth is that God has established a wilderness for all of us and there is no exception. As He takes us out of Egypt (that is the world), He sets our feet on the highway to Canaan (that is heaven), and God’s chosen highway to Canaan is via the wilderness. Each one of us will be isolated, some will lose their jobs, spouses, families, businesses, friends, and everyone may even turn their backs on us. We will seek for help, and no one will seem to care or help. All friends will disappear. We will have no one but God. We will be forced to trust God, and then the faith of Jesus Christ our Lord will be developed in us! Thankfully, this wilderness experience will not last longer than is necessary. The truth is, some of us are already in our wilderness, some are entering into it, some will still enter into it, and some are coming out of it!

However, the good news is that, though the world will seem to fall apart all around you and nothing will seem to work for you, God is still in control of your life and He will not leave you nor forsake you, and by no means will you go hungry. GOD WILL PROVIDE for you; however, it is likely that you will not be in your comfort zone. There will be pressure from all angles, people demanding things that you just do not have, and yet God will show up, not in your time, but in His own time, until He builds in you the faith of Jesus Christ. And He will build not just the faith in Christ, but the faith of Christ, that we too can call upon “Abba Father.”

Things will certainly be tough. I do not say this to discourage you, but rather that you may stand, that you may endure the chastening of the LORD. For many fail this test in order to pass to the next level, so they risk becoming superficial Christians, blowing with any wind of doctrine, with no principles in the Word of God, and they follow the opinion that is most popular at the current time. The Bible call such ones unstable, because they run away from the fire; they do not cooperate with God and surrender all unto God, so that God may mold them unto image of His Son. Remember how the Lord Jesus suffered for us!

Beloved, no one will be called a child of God without chastisement!

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

      “ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
      Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
       For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
      And scourges every son whom He receives.”

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which ALL have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:3-11)

And all this is done for our own good that we may become perfect men and women, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is how Christ glorified God on earth, being obedient unto death. Even so we are sanctified to bear much fruit, that God may be glorified in us. That is how our good works will shine as light into the world. When we are presented with an opportunity to do evil, and no one is looking, and we refuse to do evil and choose rather to obey God, that is what Christ means by saying: “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

It means that we must love righteousness and shun evil:

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

During His ministry on earth the Lord Jesus made seven bold statements concerning the divine requirements for us:

Divine Requirements

1) Inward Righteousness:

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

This means to be good from the heart, not just to act good in front of others that they may praise you. It means to fear God, not men!

2) Childlike Spirit:

“And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:3)

This means to have a teachable spirit; to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us; to ask for help from God when it is needed; to accept our limitations; to trust our Father in heaven like a child trusts his father and mother; to depend 100% on God our Father, and to revere Him with godly fear!

3) Repentance:

“And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-3)

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of this world produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)

Repentance is an inward change of heart, a change of attitude toward God.

To repent is to accept one’s sinful nature and, therefore, to accept the only provision that God has made for man to be saved, Jesus Christ. Basically, repentance is the most important decision you will ever make in your whole life. It is to admit that you are wrong (spiritually dead) and to accept the free gift from God (Jesus). It is to embrace what is right (Christ) and by so doing to gain eternal life.

4) New Birth:

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. That you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

(Ephesians 5:23-34)

Please also read Ephesians 4:17-32 for a more in depth knowledge about the meaning of being a new creature in Christ, and having new birth through the Spirit.

One of the biggest downfalls of Christians is that we become a NEW creature but we still want to live our OLD lives. The truth is that we cannot build a new house and yet live out back in the shack.

5) Spiritual Worship:

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

Even in this ungodly age, God is still seeking for people who are seeking Him; people who are inviting Him to come dwell in their hearts; people who are not limited by churches and denominations as a place of worship; people who meditate in the Truth, the Word of God, day and night; and people who become doers of the Word. These are the people whom God is seeking to worship Him in spirit and truth. Are you one of these people?

6) Spiritual Food:

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53)

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

My beloved, if you desire to have life in you, feed on the Word of God daily, day and night!

7) Personal Faith:

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He [The Christ], you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

Beloved, second-hand faith is not faith at all. Your parents’ faith cannot save you, nor can the faith of your husband, wife, children, brother, sister, any other family members or any friends. No one’s faith can save you but your own!

Each one of us must have our own faith and must believe in the name of Jesus as the ONLY name given for salvation, and must believe in the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord as the only means of remission of sins. We all must pursue holiness by the grace of God:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Finally my dear beloved, let us, therefore, now surrender and continue to surrender our lives unto God our Father that He may sanctify us and transform us, mold us and change us into the fullness of the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. God has given us freedom of choice, so God will not impose Himself on us; rather, we must pursue righteousness, holiness, and perfection from God. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us the areas in our lives that need perfecting, let us not fight, but let us bring this to the altar of grace and surrender all unto Jesus Christ our Lord. He will deliver us from all our imperfections until we are perfect in the eyes of Him with whom we have to deal with. Amen!

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
      And to present you faultless
      Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
      To God our Savior,
      Who alone is wise,
      Be glory and majesty,
      Dominion and power,
      Both now and forever.
      Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!

Meditation: God wants me to be perfect, just as He is perfect, that I love righteousness and hate iniquity.

Prayer points: LORD, please transform me unto the full likeness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I must surrender my whole life unto God, not in part, but as a whole, that He may transform and perfect my character into that of Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Day 19 Universal Love

2011-09-24T23:42:00.001-07:00

Day 19

Universal Love

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”

(Matthew 5:43-47)

Universal Love is the 11^th pillar

Universal Love is the 11^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

My dear beloved, God our Father loved the World! The Lord Jesus didn’t say, “for God so loved the righteous that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

No! He said: “For God so loved the WORLD.” Yes, the world in its sinfulness, and in our filthiness. God so loved the world. Not some part of it, or some race only, or a creed or tribe or language, but the entire WORLD. He even went as far as casting out the Jews from His presence, who were His people according to the covenant and promise He made with Abraham. But that was in God’s divine wisdom, that He included the Jews with us as unbelieving, that the world may become one in its sinfulness, that He may have mercy on us all--Jews and Gentiles alike. By His mercy He loved the world, that whosoever believes in His love, which is Christ Jesus our Lord, will not perish but have everlasting life.

“Concerning the gospel they [Jews] are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you [Gentiles: that’s me and you] were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”

“For who has known the mind of the LORD?
      Or who has become His counselor?
         Or who has first given to Him
      And it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:28-36)

Beloved, we are the children of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen! And God has loved the world without exception, every one of us-- whether Jews, Africans, Europeans, Asians, Indians or Arabs-- God loved us all. And I say “LOVED” because there is nothing you can do to make God love you, He already loves you! God is just waiting for you to come to the knowledge of how much He loves you!

The love of God is in a form of a Person, and that is Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, if anyone desires to experience the love of God, he must believe in Jesus, for in Him is the fullness of the love of God for us all. Amen!

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:12-13)

“For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” (John 16:27)

And:

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:9)

Because:

“…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Hallelujah! Praise the LORD! Amen!

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!...” (1 John 3:1)

My dear beloved, we are the children of God, not because we love God, but because He loved us first in Christ Jesus our Lord. God saved us from the world, not because we have done any works of righteousness, but according to His mercies, that we may experience His love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Once we have experienced His love, God is sending us back into the world, not to get involved in the affairs of the world again, but to call others that they may also come and experience the great love of God for us all, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen!

Now my dear beloved, it is the will of God that all of us be saved, so God is commanding us to put away all malice and all lies of the devil, that has taught us to hate one another. Let us, therefore, put away all prejudice we have toward others: racism, tribalism, xenophobia, sexism, classism, hatred and the like. For when God looks upon us, He doesn’t see categories: Jews, Arabs, Africans, Europeans, South or North Americans, Asians, nor even male or female. All God sees when He looks upon us ALL is sinners in need of LOVE and GRACE. And that is why God loved the world. Everyone is included and you are the only one that can exclude yourself. For it is the will of God that ALL of us may be SAVED--no exception!

“Who [God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth [Jesus Christ]. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6)

Let us therefore go into the world and share the love of God with everyone.

Let us put aside all malice and prejudice, and stop putting ourselves in the place of God, judging others, determining who can be saved and who cannot be saved, for God desires that ALL be saved. Now, all means ALL. Let us, therefore, go into the world and share the love of God with all: prostitutes, thieves, murderers, prisoners, racists, tribalists, rapists, haters, fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, the selfish, the xenophobic, sorcerers, haters of God because of ignorance, drug addicts, homosexuals, gays, lesbians and the like. Let us share the love of God with them by first considering ourselves:

Beloved, now that we came to the knowledge of the truth and are not ignorant of the devil’s devices, let us, therefore, love those who are still under darkness. Let us be patient of their ignorance so that our love and patience toward them may shine as light into their hearts, turning them away from the powers of darkness and leading them into God’s marvelous Light, which is the Word of God:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Finally, my dear beloved:

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:12-16)

Now my dear beloved:

“May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

And I pray that you:

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 21)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the gracious communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen.

Meditation: God is love. To love God is to love others!

Prayer points: LORD, please create in me a new heart which is full of love. Please teach me to love You by loving others! I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment: I must learn to love the LORD my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And I must learn to love my neighbor as myself. In Jesus’ name. Amen!