A Test Of Faith

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18.

Date: Monday, September 15, 2014
Today's Chapters: Daniel 1-3
Message Title: A Test Of Faith 

Hello My Friend,

The Book of Daniel is the twenty-seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twelve chapters. The author of the book is Daniel and it was first written to the Jews that were held captive in Babylon, the timeline for these events took place about 434BC. The purpose of the book was to show how God rules the affairs of all men and nations. What we are to learn from the book is that God is above all gods, He gives honor and protection to those who worship only Him. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” - Daniel 3:28. 

Daniel was one of the captives carried into Babylon, he was quite young, perhaps even a teenager. Soon after his capture, he and three of his friends were favored and assigned newBabylonian names, which would hide their true identity as Jews to make them appear as citizens of Babylon. The name Daniel means God is Judge, but his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar means prince of Baal. The king's intent was to brainwash the wiser of the Jews into living the way they lived, turning away for the only living God and to their false god, but his plan did not go as planned, Daniel and his friends would not defile themselves by giving into the kings bribes. 

“And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” - Daniel 1:3-5,8.

They can try to bribe, lie, and brainwash believers into turning away from Jesus and to their false gods, but God knows who are His, and He will always take care of His own. We might have to face some affliction once in a while, but He will never leave nor forsake us. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” - John 10:27-30.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had all sorts of opposition, but they never gave up on God, they could change their names, but they could not change their faith in God. One day, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he wanted interpreted, the catch, he wanted someone to tell him what he dreamed of first. He got sorcerers, astrologers, and even magicians to try to reveal the dream, but none of them could, even they admitted that only a god that is not seen could do that. Out of anger Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the wise men in Babylon killed, includingDaniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Once Daniel found out why they had a death sentence on them he asked to speak to the king, and God gave Daniel the interpretation of the dream. The king not only thanked Daniel, he made him a ruler. “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” - Daniel 2:46-48.

The first mistake Nebuchadnezzar made was thinking that those men were wise in the first place, but Daniel approached the king confidently, knowing that even if he died God was on His side. I imagine God's objective in all this was for Nebuchadnezzar to realize not only that God was number one, but to put his false gods away and only serve Him, but all he did was acknowledge God's existence. Many people know who Jesus is, and that only He can save them, but very few actually get saved. Merely knowing of Christ does not save us, only by receiving Him can we be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:9,10.

Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's faith was about to be put to the test, Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue built, and every time music played every person was to stop what they were doing, bow down toward this statue and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow down and worship this idol, stating that they would die before they would bow down to any god other than God Himself. Nebuchadnezzar had these men thrown into a fiery furnace, seven times hotter than it had been. That fire was so hot that the men throwing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace were burnt to a crisp and died, but not a hair was burned on these men, in fact, something amazing occurred, Jesus was in the midst of them, and Nebuchadnezzar witnessed it. 

“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” - Daniel 3:24-26.

No matter how many times I read this part, I cannot help, but wonder, how did Nebuchadnezzar know that the fourth man was the Son of God? Proof that, Jesus was, and always will be a Saviour to those who receive Him, but will not accept anyone who will not accept Him. As Christian's, we are going to be faced with lots of opposition, even more so because we choose to live our lives by following Jesus Christ. Take a person that believes in God and one can be accepted, but say that you believe in Jesus and that acceptance can utterly turn into hate. For this reason many fear telling people that they walk with Christ. However, we need to stand true to God even in the face of death, when we do. With God Nothing Is Impossible! We can overcome every obstacle with God. “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” - Romans 10:11,12.

Today's Prayer: God, As much as we think and even know that all things are possible with You, when difficulties and pressure comes our way it can be hard to remember that. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance. Help us to look beyond our difficulties and remain faithful to You, trusting that all things are possible with You. Also, give us the strength to stand by Your Son, and not buckle under pressure to those who want to see us fall. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Reignite Your Fire For God

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18.

Date: Sunday, September 14, 2014
Today's Chapters: Ezekiel 46-48
Message Title: Reignite Your Fire For God

Hello My Friend, 

You know the times in your life when you are on fire for God, your faith is on high, and you have convinced yourself that nothing is impossible with God? Those are good times. Unfortunately, our fire for God tends to smolder as life's events get in the way, but keep in mind, even a little bit of faith goes a long way. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” - 1 Peter 1:7-9.

In order to get through life's events, we need God, every hour, of every day, and the sooner we realize that the better life will get for us. There are simply some things that without God, are impossible, even though we are capable of them, we just do not rid of them completely without Him. God sent Jesus, not just to die for us, but to give us a helping hand also, He doesn't want to be just our Saviour, He wants to be our Lord as well. One day, we will see Him, face to face, but only those who make Him Saviour and Lord will join Him in His kingdom. As God continues to show Ezekiel the vision of His glorious temple, He tells him that the gate to the inner court (the place were Jesus would abide), will only be open on sabbath days. 

“And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.” - Ezekiel 46:2-4,9.

When you receive the Lord, Jesus Christ as your Saviour, God does not want you to go the path that you came from, He wants you to go forward, along a new path that He is laying out for you. Life really does have a way of smoldering our fire for God, as much as I would like to say that I tell God I need Him every hour of every day, I don't. My thing is that I try to do everything within my own power, and when I fail, I am too ashamed to admit that I need Him. I imagine we all have been there, but thankful to His grace, we can come to Him, and He will be with open arms. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.

God leads Ezekiel to an amazing vision, a life giving river. “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” - Ezekiel 47:6-9,12.

What an amazing illustration of salvation, when we receive the living water (Jesus Christ) He touches us and heals us from our sins. Once we receive Christ, He gives us eternal life, that means our soul will never die, and one day, even our body will join our souls and we will live with our, body, soul, and spirit, forever. When we receive the waters of the living Christ, He really does heal us, He heals our broken soul, and spirit, but if we truly want to be healed, we need to cover our entire body in His water. We do that by drawing close to Him, and staying by Him. “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” - Proverbs 13:4,12.

God gives Ezekiel as amazing prophecy, one in which, all who believe in Christ will join Israel and become one nation. In addition to that, we all receive an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 47:13,14,21-23.

Everyone who believes and receives Christ, becomes joint heirs with Christ, and receives an inheritance from God. we are blessed to have eternal life with Him and receive a part of the inheritance that the Jews will receive too. While we are not saved by our works, our works do help in receiving what our inheritance will be, but unless we receive Him, we get nothing, but a firy pit. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” - Matthew 16:27,28.

Today's Prayer: God, As the events of life smolder our fire for You, it can be hard to come to You every hour of every day. Lord, we cannot avoid the trials of life, but we can get through them as we draw near Your Son, and stay close to Him. Give us Your power to ignite our faith, and see amazing things come as we increase our faith, give us Your strength to keep going on Your path, even when we fall, and help us to get back up, to keep moving forward, and never look back. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Christ Working In You

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18.

Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014
Today's Chapters: Ezekiel 43-45
Message Title: Christ Working In You

Hello My Friend, 

If you are saved and born again, rejoice, because God is always with you, do not fear, just let all the burdens, guilt, or shame go and give it all to Him. Once you receive the Lord, Jesus Christ as your Saviour, never stop allowing Him to work in you, He is the key to all the blessings in our lives, even in the struggles. The more we allow Him to work in us, the easier we will be able to handle future struggles as well as be able to help others through theirs. We have anamazing Christ in us to strengthen us, guide us, and protect us, so, let Him do His work in us.“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Peter 5:10,11.

When you first start reading the visions that God gave Ezekiel about a third temple, it can be a little confusing, especially after Jesus was to come and eliminate the need for animal sacrifices, but something comes to mind as you actually think about what is being said. God took Ezekiel into another area, one where He would dwell.

“And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.” - Ezekiel 43:7-10.

The glory of God shall return to earth when Christ reigns as King, and Israel will once more offer their appointed and acceptable sacrifices in praise to God. This time, only one sacrifice was needed, Christ. We no longer have to offer any atoning sacrifices to God, for by His offering of Himself, Christ has redeemed all who come to Him. “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:1,4-6,12-14.

God sends Ezekiel to another gate, this gate was shut and only to be opened by the only person who was allowed in this room, a prince. “Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.” - Ezekiel 44:23,5,9.

There is only one gate that leads to God, and that is Jesus Christ, He is the only way to enjoying not only eternal life, but to sit with Jesus, and enjoy time with Him every day. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” - Revelation 3:19-21.

The physical temple is a foreshadow of the life and ministry of Christ. When He returns there will be no need for these types or symbols because God, the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, whom these symbols represent, will be present, and there will be no need for them. Our concern should not be in when Christ will return, but that our body, mind, and spirit are prepared when He does. “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” - 2 Timothy 2:20,21. 

Today's Prayer: God, We cannot remain neutral, but must stand for that which is good or we will fall for that which is evil. Help us, as believers, to cling to that which is good even when it comes as a great sacrifice. With the aid of Your Holy Spirit dwelling in and guiding us, we will be able to overcome every situation that comes our way. We look to You alone, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved than Your Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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A New Life

Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Today's Chapters: Ezekiel 37-39
Message Title: A New Life

Hello My Friend, 

Something happens the second a person receives the Lord, Jesus Christ as their Saviour, a new life begins. Now, if you ever wondered why life never seems to change, or gets worse for some after they are saved, it's usually because they never allowed Jesus to become Lord of their lives. We must realize that once we receive Christ, He lives inside of us, He is going to nudge us through the Holy Spirit until He gets our attention, which can often lead to chastisement. We may get chastised, but if we just come to Him, He will heal the pain. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” - Hebrews 12:11-13.

When we get saved we often praise and thank Jesus for dying on the cross, and resurrecting three days later, but there really is no way to grasp that concept unless we were personally facing death row for doing absolutely nothing at all. Through Ezekiel, God showed an amazing prophecy concerning the resurrection. A vision that foresees the desolate nation of God coming back to life through His Spirit, and all His people receiving a new, godly, spirit filled body. 

“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.” - Ezekiel 37:3-5,10,12-14.

What an amazing concept! The second we receive the Lord, Jesus Christ as our Saviour, God breathes His Spirit into us. There will come a day, when all the graves will open, and every person will stand before Jesus, those who are saved will get a new, glorified, immortal body.“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” - John 5:28,29.

Now, that God revealed that He would resurrect Israel and make it one nation, ruled under one King, He reveals another promise, He never leaves nor forsakes His people. They may fall and suffer in their sins, but He will gather all His people, clean them up, and bring them home. 

“Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.” - Ezekiel 37:16,17,21-23.

People underestimate God, they really let their pride keep them from coming to Him when they mess up. The majority of the time, when people get away from God and caught up in a mess, they fear going back to Him because they do not want to be chastised. Guess what? You already have been chastised. God loves you and all He wants if for you to admit You messed up. If Jesus can save you from your hell, He certainly can save you from the hell you are in for not making Him Lord of your life. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” - 1 John 2:1,2.

Today's Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for taking my place on the cross, and for giving us hope with You resurrected three days later. It is because of Your resurrection that we have hope of our future resurrection, when our bodies will be stripped of the graven clothes of this mortal life,and clothed in immortality.  We will no longer be acquainted with sickness, sorrow, pain, or sin. The temptation to sin will not even exist in our future life and our adversary, the devil, will bother us no more. What anticipation this builds when we see You face to face in our glorified, eternal bodies. Keep us faithful and looking unto Jesus until the day of His return. In Your name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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