Being A Christian

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

Date: Saturday, October 25, 2014
Today's Chapters: Luke 10-11
Message Title: Being A Christian 

Hello My Friend, 

The world, and probably the majority of religions view Christian's as those who do good, perhaps they believe in God, know that Jesus is a real person, attend church, give to charities, and even give their time to help others. Sometimes they are seen as the opposite, hypocrites, wicked, and proud, as though they think they are better than them. So, what exactly is a Christian? The word Christian means little Christ or follower of Christ, those who believe in and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour become Christian's as they learn and grow in the doctrines of Christ. True Christian's are not only believers of the only begotten Son of God's death, burial, and resurrection, they have accepted Him into their lives, and follow His doctrine, which makes them not only a Christian, but His disciples, which He appoints Himself. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” - John 15:16.

Jesus didn't have just twelve disciples that walked with Him in His ministry, He had many, their number one task was to preach the Gospel. Jesus appoints seventy more, and instructs them on how they were to tell the world about His death, burial, and resurrection. “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.” - Luke 10:1-3,10-12,16.

Jesus does not tell us to do anything that He would not do Himself, in fact, when we are lead to preach the Gospel, no matter where He takes us, He is right there with us. Many will not accept us or Him, but at least we have done our part in telling them, the rest between them and Jesus. “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” - Romans 14:11,12.

Many will reject Christ because they do not believe that they are sinners, a man asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. When He told him, the man had another question. “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” - Luke 10:29-33,36,37.

Jesus gave an illustration of a poor Jew in need of help, but the only one willing to help him was the good Samaritan, who was despised of the Jews. The man was ignored by those who he thought were his friends, only to find compassion by the very person he would never help himself. It shows the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward those who reject Him. We must realize it's not our works of righteousness that makes us a Christian, it's knowing Christ personally as our Saviour and showing His love through our actions. People, even those who do not know Christ “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” - 1 John 4:11-13.

If you have accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and are living your life through Him, than you are a witness and a testimony of the wonderful, miraculous, life giving life thatHe has given you. Not seeing God work in your life, even as a Christian? Perhaps it's time to do the one thing needed in order to get God's attention, pray. The disciples were with Jesus as He was praying, when He stopped they asked Him to teach them how to pray. “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” - Luke 11:1-4,9,10.

Prayer, it means to ask, it's the one and only way we can communicate with God on a one to one basis. We can do good all we want to others, but unless we talk to Him ourselves and ask Him for what we need, we are not going to see Him do much in our own lives. God wants a relationship with us, He wants more than us just doing good for others in His name, He wants us talking to Him, singing to Him, praising Him for all that He does in our lives, despite the circumstances we face. As we develop a relationship with Him, we will start to see Him bless our own lives. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” - 1 John 5:14,15.

Today's Prayer: God, I want to be a witness and a testimony for others to see the amazing life that they too can have when they place their faith and trust in Your Son. Thank You Lord, for all the joys, sorrows, and tears you place before me so I can be a witness and a testimony for Your glory. Lord, lead me and guide me, help me to not only follow in the footsteps of Your Son, but to also pray without ceasing. I have confidence in knowing that anything I ask in His name I will receive because You said so. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Let Jesus Touch You

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

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2014
Today's Chapters: Luke 6-7
Message Title: Let Jesus Touch You

Hello My Friend, 

There is a Gospel hymn that I love to sing, “He Touched Me”, The chorus goes like this, “He touched me, Oh, He touched me, and all the joy that floods by soul. Something happened, and now, I know, He touched, and made me whole.” When Jesus touches you, something really does happen, and you know it. The closer we get to Him, the more we truly feel His presence in our lives. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” - 2 Corinthians 5:17,18.

People came from all around came to see Jesus, longing for one touch to be healed of their infirmities, and He did heal all who came to Him. Amongst them were a group of people intent on catching Him do something they could use to have Him killed under the their law. He begins to speak, first of those who believe in Him. “And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” - Luke 6:19-24.

Believe it or not, Jesus knows when someone that truly believes in Him and touches Him, without them even touching Him. Faith is the key that opens the door to His heart, and yes, we will face a lot of problems from the world because we choose Him, but in the end we will have the victory. “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” - Isaiah 25:8.

Jesus continues His speech, this time telling us how to handle those who cause trouble for us.“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” - Luke 27:,28,32-35,45.

The most interesting thing about God is that, He blesses the saved and unsaved, Why? So that, all will come to know Jesus. Unfortunately, not all will accept His Son, and there will come a time when His mercy and grace will come to an end for those who refuse to believe. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” - Galatians 6:7,8.

Many people wondered who Jesus was, some were so afraid of the miracles they saw that they wanted nothing to do with Him, others feared God as they never have before. The Pharisee's could not stand the fact that people were starting to believe that Jesus really was the Son of God who came to save them, they tried everything to make Him look like just an ordinary man. 

“And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” - Luke 7:16,36-39,44,47.

We are all sinners, saved by the grace of God, through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. No one is better than anyone else, yes, some of us have sinned more than others, but sin is sin, and anyone who thinks themselves as all righteous and without sin better think again, because no one born in this world is without sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive usour sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:8-10.

Today's Prayer: Jesus, You know my heart, my thoughts, and even my actions before I do them. I know that I am who I am today because You touched me. I am not the same creature I was when You picked me up out of the hole I was in, but You are not done with me yet. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me the strength that only You can give me to be more like You and less like me. Let me be a witness and a testimony for those who need You, and even those Yours who lost their way. In Your name, Jesus, Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Defeat The Devil

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

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Today's Chapters: Luke 4-5
Message Title: Defeat The Devil

Hello My Friend, 

This has been a very trying year for Christians, persecutions, conspiracies, and even death, we do not even have to talk about Jesus, yet we are being manipulated and forced to live by their rules or die. I have a question for all you Jesus haters, if the life you live is so great, and so many people agree with you, then why is there so much evil in the world? Christians, we must stop living in fear and take a stand for our rights to live the way that is pleasing to God. We must understand that the culprit behind everything evil is the devil, every wicked deed that goes against nature itself, comes from him. While he cannot force anyone to do evil, he can sure do a good job of intimidating people. By being silent, all we are doing is giving up our freedom and letting the devil control us. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” - 1 Peter 5:8.

No one is exempt from being tempted by the devil, he even tempts God, but we can learn how to kick him to the curb when he does. Now, after Jesus was baptized, He was lead into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, it was there that the devil tempted Him. “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in theirhands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” - Luke 4:2-4,9-13. 

The devil is slick, he does not mess with us while we are strong, he waits until we are vulnerable,and weak in our flesh. Sometimes, it is hard to know whether or not things that happen are from God or the devil, the best way to know if it is something from the devil is by how it is presented to us. The devil will never do anything that does not require us to do something that goes against God in return. So, if you are told to do something evil in return, it is not from God.“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” - 1 John 4:1.

While the devil is very good at manipulating people and can do all sorts of things to entice people to do what's wrong, we must understand that he still has to answer to God. The devil cannot touch one hair on our heads without God allowing it first. While in the synagogue, a man possessed by the devil comes up to Jesus. “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.” - Luke 4:32-36.

Do not think that the devil does not know everything about Jesus, he knows just as much as we do, in fact, he may know more, he just choses to go against God. Right now, he is in his glory because he has control of the world, but the time will come that he will have to answer to God for that as well. I do not know why God allows the devil to go as far as he does, but I do know that He allows us to choose to do evil or good, no one can force us to do anything, it's who we listen to that determines that, anyone that choses to live in sin, chooses the devil, even if they do not realize that they are. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” - 1 John 3:7,8.

Sin, what a word, many may not know they are living in it, but they sure know when they hear that word it is something the God does not like. Sin is often referred to as leprosy, it's a deadly disease that starts out as small white spots, and spreads like wildfire, it literally eats the flesh alive, chances are slim to be healed from it. As Jesus was walking through a town, a leprous man ran up to Him. “And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” - Luke 5:12-16.

As soon as Jesus touched this man he was healed, his faith in Him alone is what healed him. Many people rather let their sin disease rot them than do what's right. God hates sin, in case you did not know, sin is any thought, word, or deed that is immoral. Sin includes, lying, cheating, stealing, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, idolatry, hatred, and even pride. Denying God or even the devil does not excuse a person from facing the consequences of their sin. And do not mistake sin as something that only God dislikes, no one likes to be lied to or cheated on, yet it's something we face every day because of the choices we make. I've been there, I know what it's like to wrestle with doing whats right for fear of losing something or someone. Can I tell you that it's not worth it? The only one that ends up getting hurt is you. We can defeat the devil, and make the right choices, but we need God in order to do that. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” - Ephesians 6:11,12.

Today's Prayer: God, As much as I would like to believe that the devil has no control over me, I know that there are times that he does. During those times I feel lost, depressed, and as if there is no hope to life. I hate feeling that way because I know You have better things waiting for me, if I would just let go of the devil's grip. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power to withstand the wiles of the devil, give me Your strength to do what's right, even if that means I face persecution, and put You hedge of protection upon me that I may keep living the way You want me to live. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Miracles Do Exist

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

Date: Monday, October 20, 2014
Today's Chapters: Luke 1
Message Title: Miracles Do Exist

Hello My Friend,

The Gospel of Luke is the forty-second book of the Bible, the third book of the New Testament, the third book of the Gospels of Christ, and contains twenty-four chapters. The author of thisGospel is Luke and it was first aimed at reaching the Greeks, whom Jesus is presented as the perfect man. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 4BC and 33 AD. The purpose of this Gospel was to write an orderly account of the ministry of Jesus and to show all that He is the promised Messiah. What we are to learn from the book is that our mission is to be identical to that of Jesus, to reach the lost with the good news of the Gospel and to realizethat nothing is impossible for God. “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” - Luke 1:37. 

Luke is called by Paul, the beloved physician, he often traveled with Paul throughout his ministry, and his devotion to Jesus caused him to treasure the words that He spoke, as well as everything else that concerned the Saviour's life. Luke begins his rendition of the Gospel with a declaration. “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.” - Luke 1:1-4. 

The name Theophilus, means friend of God. This is not addressing a specific person, but a group of people. Luke is writing to all who are friends of God, those whom believe in Jesus Christ and have accpted Him as their Saviour. They are not only favored by God, but friends of His as well. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” - John 15:15. 

Miracles, we do not think much about them because they do not seem to happen very much anymore. Miracles still do happen, every day, but quite often we overlook them because of the circumstances we are facing. In order to see a miracle, we must have faith in God, any kind of unbelief, and we can face some affliction just for not believing. Zacharias, was one of the last god fearing priests they had in the temple, the angel Gabriel came to him with an amazing prophecy, his wife was going to have a baby, the problem, she was well beyond her days of being able to conceive a child. 

“And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” - Luke 1:11-13,18-20.

God still allowed the miracle to take place, but Zacharias would remain mute until his birth. One thing we should understand about God, is that He does not let unbelief stop Him from doing what He says He will do. Those that are saved will face some affliction for their unbelief, those who simply refuse to believe at all still face hell. “Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” - 2 Timothy 2:10-13.

Another miracle was about to take place, this time a young virgin named Mary. Six months after the angel Gabriel visited Zacharias with the news of his wife having a baby, hie visited Mary with some very strange news.

“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” - Luke 1:28-31,34-38.

Mary did not understand how she could have a baby without a man, but she did understand that if God said it then it will happen, and she willingly accepted God's plan for her life. Notice this key phrase, “for thou hast found favour with God.” Mary was not sinless as many believe her to be, remember, she was born with the very sin nature that all of us have. The word favor means any act of grace or good will, it is something given to us as an evidence of God's good will. Mary found favor with God because she believed that Jesus would come to save her. Do you think God would allow a woman that did not believe in the long awaited Messiah to carry His only begotten Son? You must believe. In order to see God do a miracle, all you have to do is believe. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” -Matthew 21:22.

Today's Prayer: God, I know that You are still in the miracle making business, I know this because You have made a miracle in me. I know that You are not done with me yet, and that You still want to show me some miracles, but my unbelief keeps me from seeing them. Lord, help my unbelief, fill me with Your power, remove the fears and doubts in my head, and replace them with confidence, and hope that You will continue Your work in me. Use me as You will, and guide me in the direction that You want me to be in, let me be a miracle for someone. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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