Thursday, May 31, 2012

You are Comforter..........


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

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The word “weary” means no vigor, no energy and exhausted in strength. We often feel weary because of everything that’s going on in this world. We often find ourselves looking for comfort, looking for peace in all the wrong places. But God design a system for us to get blessed and to find rest from our weariness. We have the Holy Spirit. God understands that at times we would be weary. Jesus must have been weary on His way to Calvary.

The Holy Spirit is a real person who came to reside within the believer on the day of he/she is saved. He is considered to be the third member of the Godhead. He is a person equal in every way with God the Father and God the Son.
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18)

“Come to me” is an invitation, He will not intervene unless you invite Him in. We tend to tell our friends everything about our lives but we tend to be too polite when it comes to God. We don’t want to bother Him; we pray for a few second, we don’t spend the time to tell Him about all that is in our heart. He is omniscient, all knowing but you still need to tell me about your trouble because only God can give the rest, the comfort that you are looking for.

I can’t say it enough, come to God, and stop telling the people who are unable to help. Call on the true comforter, the Holy Spirit and get the real comfort. He will build into our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), in addition to God real comfort.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 43



Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause 
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
    deceitful and wicked. 
You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning, 
    oppressed by the enemy? 
Send me your light and your faithful care, 
    let them lead me; 
let them bring me to your holy mountain, 
    to the place where you dwell. 
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight. 
I will praise you with the lyre, 
    O God, my God.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Psalm 39


 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Psalm 37



Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong; 
for like the grass they will soon wither, 
    like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, 
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways, 
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret —it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed, 
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; 
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land 
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword 
    and bend the bow 
to bring down the poor and needy, 
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, 
    and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, 
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, 
    and their inheritance will endure forever. 
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish: 
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously; 
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps 
    of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, 
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken 
    or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely; 
    their children will be a blessing.[b]
27 Turn from evil and do good; 
    then you will dwell in the land forever. 
28 For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish. 
29 The righteous will inherit the land 
    and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, 
    and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts; 
    their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, 
    intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord 
    and keep his way. 
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; 
    a future awaits those who seek peace.[d] 
38 But all sinners will be destroyed; 
    there will be no future[e] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Arms of Love................




I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20  

For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

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The Greek word for unconditional, unfailing, and self-sacrificing love is agape. Love is of great importance to Jesus. So much so that He decided to willingly offer His own life to save others. He left His kingdom for a period of time to be here on earth despite the humiliating death that He knew was waiting. Do you understand what sacrifice that was? Luke 22: 27 says, For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Jesus the King of kings became a servant. Jesus forsook himself and all that heaven represented to Him for about 33 years. Just for you. Just for me. Hallelujah!

As great as His coming and dying was, it wasn't enough for Jesus. He could have easily lived in waiting for His death but He chose to heal the sick, feed the poor, and drive out demons. He even raises the widow's son from the dead. His compassionate and loving heart had and still has no limit. My dear friend, God loves you so dearly. His heart's desire is to live in yours. He gave His best (His life) as substitution for yours. He deserves you devotion. He deserves to have complete control of your heart. There is nothing more precious than the gift of love and in this world we strive for it. We look for it in all the wrong places and yet the "agape" kind of love that Jesus is offering is available to all who wants to receive it, and this is not the kind of love that make us weak in the knees. It is, however, the kind that builds you up and transforms your life. This is the kind of love worth finding. 

Would you give Jesus your heart today? He is longing to be in your life. He wants a relationship with you. He says that He would not turn you away.  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20
And Father, I grateful I am for your love! Thank you for seeking me when I voluntarily hide from you. Thank for the sacrifice at Calvary. I honor you and praise you for only you are holy and only are worthy and only you are God

Praise the Lord!



Saturday, May 26, 2012

Jesus, My Hope!



O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. Psalm 71:5

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  Psalm 62:5

David, a man after God’s heart, was jealous. He could not understand why people who don’t love God prosper while those who honor God were facing hardship, and David said, “When I thought about this it was too painful for me.” Think about it for a second, does it make sense to you that people who have no sense of love, dedication or commitment, those who make fun of you for going to church, or for waiting on God to meet that special someone, to get the perfect job, and to buy your first home, those people are married, or switching girlfriends/boyfriends on a regular basis. They own the apartment you are renting and unable to pay for. They enjoy excellent health, while you have been dealing with various health challenges. It just doesn’t seem fair, does it? David says, “They are blessed, they have more than their heart can wish” David continues, “I just can’t take it.” And God says, “You are looking at them at the wrong time. You are looking at them in the morning. It’s morning in their lives. Like in nature in the morning the flowers bloom, but when the hot sun starts beating down, they wither and die.”

Friend, there is no need to be jealous, David realized that and he saw the light later on and he admitted in Psalm 73. One day, you too, will come to the sunrise of your life. Every moment, every sacrifice, and all challenges are bringing you closer to that sunrise. What good is money? What good is power? What good is a great relationship? What good is any of it when the sun goes down?  What we hope for apart from God can be wonderful, positive and life but what if it doesn't come to pass?  What if we never get it? What do we do then? Do we go crazy? You see, hope in God never disappoint. Friend, you should focus on Christ. He went to prepare a place for you. If you think those who don’t love the Lord are having a great time now, you should see what the righteous are going to enjoy in heaven. 

There are people who rejected Christ and yet still enjoying His mercy and goodness but there will be a time when it will all come to an end. They will know no more mercy and grace. They will know the wrath of God, while we enjoy His love. What else do you need when you have Jesus? You have His peace (financial, marital). When you have Jesus, you have someone to love you unconditionally (will never leave you), you have someone to own you (handle all your challenges). When you have Jesus, you have total acceptance. Your days of getting rejected are for ever gone, you now have acceptance. When you have Jesus, you have someone who will be able to find you in the midst of your darkest hour; in your deepest loneliness, you will have someone to comfort you. Psalm 23:3 says, when you have God, you have someone to restore your soul. Glory! The hurt, pain, hardship, rejection, loneliness, are all temporary. 

Friend, don’t worry that you haven’t come across all that is in store for you. The joy of the fact that you are a child of God should be present in your life. That joy should remain in you until the appointed day when you are with your savior face to face. Now the world may not know it, but you have something that can’t be taken away. You have a seat in the kingdom of God, and if you are in the middle of a storm right now, don’t worry. You are not alone; Psalm 23: 4 assures us that He is with us. Those who have God have it all, and the best is yet to come. 

"No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame" (Psalm 25:3)


Praise the Lord!

Friday, May 25, 2012

A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies



Psalm 35
1 Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me:
        
fight against them that fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
        
and stand up for mine help.
3 Draw out also the spear,
        
and stop the way against them that persecute me:
say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
4 Let them be confounded and put to shame
        
that seek after my soul:
let them be turned back and brought to confusion
that devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind:
        
and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery:
        
and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit,
        
which without cause they have digged for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares;
        
and let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD:
        
it shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say,
        
LORD, who is like unto thee,
which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him,
yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
11 False witnesses did rise up;
        
they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
        
my clothing was sackcloth:
I humbled my soul with fasting;
and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother:
        
I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced,
        
and gathered themselves together:
yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me,
and I knew it not;
they did tear me, and ceased not:
16 with hypocritical mockers in feasts,
        
they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on?
        
Rescue my soul from their destructions,
my darling from the lions.
18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation:
        
I will praise thee among much people.
19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me:
        
neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. Ps. 69.4 · Joh. 15.25
20 For they speak not peace:
        
but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me,
        
and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
22 This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence:
        
O Lord, be not far from me.
23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment,
        
even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness;
        
and let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
        
Ah, so would we have it:
let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together
        
that rejoice at mine hurt:
let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
that magnify themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad,
        
that favor my righteous cause:
yea, let them say continually,
Let the LORD be magnified,
which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness
        
and of thy praise all the day long.

Have Peace!



Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

How true is that! God does keep all His promises. Many years ago, I thought I would never experience peace again. After my mother died, I promised myself that I would never smile again. I made the decision to be miserable.  It is ironic how we are sometimes our own enemy! But, in the years since my mother's passing, I have smiled, and I have even  laughed. God has blessed our family in ways that I never thought possible. We now have peace. Thank God for His goodness, mercy and grace. God has a way of working with us through our hardship and pain and little by little restore the joy in our hearts. God is good. He does not give up on His children. His promises of peace, like all the others, is a promise we can rely on. God expects us to know that he keeps his promises, and can be trusted. You and I must believe that God can and will do what He says will do. Friend, God keeps his promises. It may have been two years or  twenty five years since the promise had been given, but at the appointed time the promise will be fulfilled. God can be relied upon, he can be trusted, and believed on, to do that which he has promised to do. The challenge comes with waiting. We simply do not like to wait. We want it all today and now.

We live in the "microwave era." We want immediate gratification of our wishes and desires. How hard is to wait? Very. Both prophets Isaiah and Malachi talked about promises of God, but the gap between the prophecy of Malachi and its fulfillment with the birth of John was more than four hundred years; whereas the prophecies of Isaiah and the birth of Jesus was about around eight hundred years. God fulfills his promises, and has always proven himself faithful in the past, and He will continue to be faithful. You can and should place your trust in Him. Times are really hard but we can trust God. He promises of peace; therefore, peace is ours.He promises to never leave us alone; therefore we are never alone. Whatever the challenge my dear friend, you can trust God. let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid, is a command. Live in peace. Have faith in God. Remains faithful no matter what comes your way and be blessed!

Father God, thank you for who you are, all you have done, and all you will do in my life. I praise you. I honor you. Amen. 

Praise the Lord!


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Be Filled!



May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:11

"God makes a home for the lonely" Psalms 68:6 

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Many couples fall into the same trap, they assume that they only need each other and they alienate everyone including God from their lives. I know the pattern very well. You married 2 of the most active members of a church and soon thereafter, they disappear. They will reappear when they are having trouble conceiving a child or when they are in need of a home or when they are going through typical adjustment period that come with living together. Now I am not saying that church attendance is the cause, but it is usually an indication of problems to come. When we are removed from our spiritual circle/our assembly, we are more vulnerable to the devil's trap. We have a responsibility to remain alert because the devil is on a mission to bring us down. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour". 1 Peter 5:8. We need each other and we need God. 

Whatever you are lacking or whatever is missing in your life today, Jesus wants to give it to you in overflowing measure. He wants to fill that void, the emptiness you have been feeling since your spouse walked away, since your parents died, since your fiancé chose yet again another over you. JESUS WANTS TO CURE YOU EVERYWHERE YOU HURT. He wants to restore your broken heart and re-establish the lines of communication between you and the Father that is why He gave His life. Go to Jesus with your emptiness, your need, hurt or loneliness. He is The Source, the Author and finisher of all things, the Alpha and Omega. He wants to fill your heart to overflowing. You will never experience the abundant life He wants you to have, the life He died to give you unless you are walking obediently with Him in an intimate and loving union. 

There are many possible treatments for loneliness but I learn from experience that the most effective cure is to get right with God. Reconcile with your Heavenly Father through the blood of Christ. Repent and come back to His loving arm and never you will experience another lonely day in your life. 

"May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". Romans 15:13 

Praise the Lord!