Category: faith

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The Return of the King

Photo by Pawe? Furman

Loved the Lord of the Rings – The Return of the KING!!

“The eye of the enemy is moving – the end has come – Frodo moves closer to Mordor – It is time – give him the sword of the king – claim who were born to be”

WOW!!! Gives me chills – the return of the king saw the gruesome end of Saruman the once great powerful wizard and finally corrupted by his desire to own THE ring.

The end of Sauron the amazing dark Lord and maker of the THE ring

The end of the trolls those horrible and nasty protectors all out to receive THE ring and so it goes on.

So what does a king do to those who rebel against him.

In days gone by and history records it vividly there was no going back once you were labelled a traitor to the King – there was no hope for you – none whatever.

Why on the 8th February 1587 Queen Elizabeth 1 executed her cousin Mary Queen of Scots and this year marks the 432nd anniversary of that dreaded time. Bad and cruel times indeed all in the name of power, intrigue, lies and mayhem. It took three whacks with the axe to finally decapitate the young Queen of Scots. I trust Elizabeth could rest easy after that.

If you were labelled a traitor as was the beleaguered Mary, you were imprisoned, tortured and finally executed in the most abhorrent ways ever thought of by a human mind.

Kings have been named and famed for years and years – cities and countries lost and gained throughout history by wayward kings and queens – overthrowing their enemies left and right to gain the power of the King/Queen.

But God has named His king: Jesus Christ Himself. Those who continue in rebellion against King Jesus have another fate in store which we will discuss a little later on.

Jesus as King gave His life so that we didn’t have to – His love was far greater, more far reaching, more immense than anything that we have encountered. His love was SO great that he died to make us alive.

Jesus was labelled a traitor, a rebel, a blasphemer and a rabble rouser. He was tortured and nailed to a cross to die in abject horror and excruciating pain. He was mocked and scourged, flogged and ridiculed yet he did it for us anyway.

Today the majority of people choose not to accept Christ – they mock him and treat His saving power as a falsehood – a myth – a fantasy to be believed by the ‘tooth fairy crowd’ just like they did on that day at Calvary over 2000 years ago

Christians and believers are treated with a growing pessimism and yes even hatred – Christians have been hounded over the centuries and today it seems to be getting worse with more and more countries bowing to the lies of the enemy in the name of tolerance – all very sad because so many even in our own families giving into the watering down of the faith that saved them originally.

Many strange and wayward thinking contradicting the Bible has surfaced and re-surfaced again and again ad-nauseum. Many today don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead as foretold many times in the old testament – many years before Jesus came and died for us.

Many refuse to believe in hell! A place described again and again as the place where all non-believers and haters of God are going to end up for eternity. It’s so easy to live life in your own little world if you believe you are just going to die and that’s that. Jesus Himself talks about an eternity without Him.  Mark 9:43.

The latest I have personally heard is that many Christians believe that evangelising is wrong – so much for Jesus saying “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”  Mark 16:15.

There are still many who believe in rituals to come to Jesus – eg You must do certain things you must go certain places, you must eat certain foods on certain days, you must bow down to statues and keep lots of rules and regulations and if you don’t Jesus will turn His back on you

So you can see that there are many falsehood surrounding Christianity and many believe that the Bible is a myth and Jesus never came at all.

Whatever the reasons many reject Jesus, their rejection according to the Word of God will have disastrous effects and eternal consequences.

This in Acts 4:12 Jesus is the only name under heaven by which men and women can be saved ie Jesus is the ONLY way – there is no other.

Then again Matthew 25:30 which I will let you read for yourself describes utter anguish for those who reject Him and it’s for eternity!

Honestly!! If you feel like you have blown it with Jesus – If you feel you are just TOO far gone and nothing you can do will make God love you and forgive you, then I have great news for you and there is still great hope for you right now even as you may be reading this blog.

No matter what you have done you can’t erase His love and what Jesus did for you on Calvary all those years ago.

Right now there has never been a better time for you get honest with God and yourself  – there has never been a better time to ask forgiveness of God – run to the cross and claim His love and mercy for yourself.’

No matter what you have done – no matter who you have been with – who you may have cheated – who you may have hurt – what you have taken from someone – no matter what you have been through and the list goes on  – While you still have breath IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO COME TO CHRIST.

Ask His forgiveness today, repent of your past and be washed clean through the very sacrifice of Jesus who paid for your sins in the past, right now and in the future.

Yes! we all fail – we will never be perfect until Jesus comes again BUT he has left us an amazing legacy of continuing forgiveness and repentance.

AND YES!!! Jesus is COMING AGAIN – Yes! Our King is coming back.

Are you ready for Him or are you going to be left behind to face the consequences?

Come to Him right now – Our King is the King of the impossible – no matter that you have doubts or just how HUGE they are are, or just how little your faith is – He died for YOU and loves you and is waiting for you to come to Him right now.

God bless you this week as you consider just where you stand with Jesus.

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Two Common Myths about the Spirit-Filled Life

Two Common Myths about the Spirit-Filled Life

Many Christians believe the myth that ‘Spirit-filled’ or even ‘spiritual’ must indicate something or someone a little strange. Depending on how much exposure people have had to the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, they might associate the words ‘Spirit-filled’ with people who claim to be inspired by the Spirit to bark like dogs, scream, or roll around on the floor. Such people exist–I’ve seen them!

Eccentric Prophets

Some people try to justify their conclusion that it is spiritual to act strange by pointing to the eccentric behavior of prophets in the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah walked around naked (Isaiah 20:1—4)–some scholars say, wearing only an undergarment–and Ezekiel lay on his side for 430 days (Ezekiel 4:4—6). Some also point to Saul, who “changed into a different person” when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied (1 Samuel 10:6, 10).

These examples, however, don’t prove that one should expect to act strangely if one is to be truly spiritual. First of all, Saul might have just “changed into a different person” in the sense that “God changed Saul’s heart” before he prophesied (v. 9).

The Frantic Prophets of Baal

Furthermore, when you read about the prophets in the Old Testament, you don’t get the sense that the prophets were usually ecstatic and acting strangely. To illustrate the point, when Elijah had his standoff at Mount Carmel, it was the prophets of Baal who “danced around the altar they had made,” shouted, slashed themselves with swords, and engaged in “frantic prophesying,” while they endeavored to get Baal to send fire on their sacrifice (1 Kings 18:26—29). By contrast, when Elijah called on God to send fire on his sacrifice, he merely “stepped forward and prayed” (v. 36).

Strange or out-of-the-ordinary things might happen when people experience the Spirit–like speaking in tongues, dreams, or visions (Joel 2:28)–but such experiences are not the primary indicator of spirituality. That is a myth!

Spirit with Hardships

Another myth some Christians believe is that people who are really Spirit-filled will always experience victory. This belief is a cousin to the idea that if you have enough faith you will always experience health and wealth.

Just as faith doesn’t guarantee a life free of disappointments and hardships, the Spirit-filled life is not a life free of disappointments and hardships. Jesus is the epitome of spirituality, but he never became an earthly king. Instead, “through the eternal Spirit [he] offered himself unblemished to God” so his death might give us life (Hebrews 9:14).

In the Bible, “the one who is victorious” (Revelation 2:11) may suffer and face poverty (v. 9). Their victory is that they resist their culture’s anti-Christian values and are “faithful, even to the point of death” (v. 10). And their “victor’s crown” is eternal life, not achieving success in the eyes of the world around them (vv. 10—11).

Spirit-Filled “Success” and “Failure”

The Spirit’s empowerment may at times lead to great successes, but it doesn’t guarantee them. Barnabas, for example, “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” and through his ministry “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:22—24).

By contrast, Stephen, who was also “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5 and 7:55), was stoned to death when he preached the gospel (7:58). Similarly, Peter and Paul both had their lives threatened and were imprisoned on account of Christ, but they continued to preach the gospel because they had power and boldness from the Holy Spirit. Today the Spirit continues to inspire people to stay committed to Christ in the face of adversity, even to the point of martyrdom.

Spirit of Hope

Aside from the fact that those we minister to can “resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51) and, therefore, our Spirit-empowered ministry is not always well-received, we live in a fallen creation that is yet to “be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21). As a consequence, even though we “have the firstfruits of the Spirit,” we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (v. 23).

However, as we long with hope, God does not abandon us, for the “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (v. 26). As James Dunn observes, the Spirit is not only present “in the heights of spiritual rapture,” but also “in the depths of human inability to cope.”[1] This means that if we find ourselves outside of some experiences of victory, this is not necessarily a sign of a lack of spirituality–in fact, at those times the Spirit might be particularly active in our lives. And that is no myth.

Click here to read Chapter 1 and order Simply Spirit-Filled.

*This is an edited excerpt from, Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, by Dr. Andrew K. Gabriel, © 2019 by Emanate Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson.

[1] James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1—8, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 38 (Dallas, TX: Word, 1988), 479.

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WISE WORDS

Wise Words

In life, some may walk, others may run, but remember the Lord gave the tortoise and the horse the same days to reach Noah’s ark. Your journey might be rough and tough but you will definitely get to your destination.

Jacob looked at Joseph and saw a good son! The ten brothers looked at Joseph and saw a useless dreamer! The travellers looked at Joseph and saw a slave!! Potiphar looked at Joseph and saw a fine servant!! Potiphar’s wife looked at Joseph and saw a potential boyfriend! The prison officers saw in Joseph a prisoner! How wrong were all of them! God looked at Joseph and saw a Prime Minister of Egypt in waiting!! Don’t be discouraged by what people see in you!! Be encouraged by what God sees in you!! Never underrate the person next to you because you never know what the Lord has deposited in that person. (Remember David got the anointing of becoming a King while he was a simple child herding sheep. Esther was a simple orphaned girl yet she was a Queen in waiting). Let’s share God’s love and make the world a better place to live. Show that love by sharing this message with those you love.

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW PEOPLE SEE YOU, IT MATTERS HOW GOD SEES YOU

God is God:

He doesn’t care about *age*, no wonder he blessed Abraham.

He doesn’t care about *experience*, no wonder he chose David.

He doesn’t care about *gender,* no wonder he lifted Esther.

He doesn’t care about *your past*, no wonder he called Paul.

He doesn’t care about *your physical appearance*, no wonder he chose Zacchaeus

(the shortest one).

He doesn’t care about *fluency in speech* , no wonder he chose Moses.

He doesn’t care about *your career*, no wonder he choose Mary Magdalene; a prostitute.

All I know is that my God never changes

He never made *a promise he wouldn’t keep*

He never saw *a person he wouldn’t help*

He never heard *a prayer he wouldn’t answer*

He never found *a soul he wouldn’t love*

He never found *a sinner he wouldn’t forgive*

This is the kind of God I would like to commune with every day the moment I wake up. I strongly recommend Him to you.

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20 Inspiring Christian Quotes from Leaders of the Faith

20 Inspiring Christian Quotes from Leaders of the Faith

We all have those days where we are feeling low and need some encouragement. Below is a collection of hand-picked inspiring Christian quotations for you, have faith!

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
— Chuck Swindoll

“We don’t think there’s something wrong with one-year-old children because they can’t walk perfectly. They fall down frequently, but we pick them up, love them, bandage them if necessary, and keep working with them. Surely our heavenly Father can do even more for us than we do for our children.”
– Joyce Meyer

“The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.”
— Matt Chandler

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”- Augustine

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
– Mother Teresa

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
~ John 10:10

“We gain strength and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face”¦we must do that which we think we cannot.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”  ? John Wesley

“We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.”
– Max Lucado

“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”
– Francis Chan

“Whatever makes men good Christians; makes them good citizens.”
~ Daniel Webster

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”
— Corrie Ten Boom

“Having the answers is not essential to living. What is essential is the sense of God’s presence during dark seasons of questioning.”
– Ravi Zacharias

“He said “Love…as I have loved you.” We cannot love too much.”
– Amy Carmichael

“He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.”
— Randy Alcorn

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 3:14

“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking God to do His work through me.”
— Hudson Taylor

“You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read.”
— John MacArthur

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”
? John Piper

“Your potential is the sum of all the possibilities God has for your life.”
— Charles Stanley

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How Do I Pray? | Teach Me How to Pray

For He Alone

It’s a simple question, but it can be tough to answer.

It’s no secret: you can learn how to pray!

Yes, you!


In the broadest sense, to pray is to make a request in a humble manner.

Too many people think they have good reasons why they cannot have a better prayer life.

Don’t believe them! Prayer is a way for us Christians to maintain a proper relationship with God. Especially, prayers in the morning and at night are indispensable. 

Because it’s a conversation, individual prayer isn’t memorized or repetitive. And whether you pray out loud while kneeling or pray silently in your heart, God hears your prayer. Here is some guidance about the basics of prayer.

Take the time to pray. No matter how you pray or whom you pray to, it can be difficult to find time for prayer during busy times. 

Find a good spot to pray. You will find that you can pray anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

Understand that prayer does not have to involve crafted, reflective silence. It can be virtually anything. 

Make the request, ask the question, or just make your voice heard.

He won’t give you a stone. He won’t give you a serpent. He loves you. He knows what’s best for you. And he’s listening. Don’t be afraid to ask, again.

“Lord, teach us to pray,” Jesus’s disciples asked. This simple prayer, which Jesus taught his disciples, can also show us how to talk with God in prayer.

“‘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 also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

You can pray to Him at any time, in any place, about anything. Praying is easy, but like any relationship, it takes a bit of time and a bit of effort.

If you need prayer for anything, we want you to know that God is near to you.


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The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Photo by Toa Heftiba

On one occasion, when meditating concerning the future, Habakkuk said, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me.” Graciously the God answered him: “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. The just shall live by his faith.”

Most Christians are familiar with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, and fortitude. 

The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God’s people today. In the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. “The just shall live by his faith.” In the service of God there need be no despondency, no wavering, no fear. The Lord will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He will give them the wisdom their varied necessities demand.

We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles have testified–the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will meet its final fulfillment in the glorious Advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The time of waiting may seem long, the soul may be oppressed by discouraging circumstances, many in whom confidence has been placed may fall by the way; but with the prophet who endeavored to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us confidently declare,

“The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Let us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, “The vision is yet for an appointed time … : though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. The just shall live by his faith.”

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When God Didn’t Give You the Life You Dreamed–Not Even Close

When God Didn’t Give You the Life You Dreamed—Not Even Close

Because of our sinful nature we tend to take the path of least resistance at times, you know, the easier way. If we’re not careful that way of thinking can slip into our faith life and that’s a problem because it’s not taking up our cross! Jesus cautions us; whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. It’s no easy task to take up our cross day after day and follow our Lord. It’s possibly the most difficult thing we do. It can wear on us, but do we still make that effort every day? Do we still have that zeal for our Lord? Is Jesus still our hearts desire? 

Jesus came to give what no one could’ve ever dreamed up – salvation by grace through faith alone. As a result, we’re justified by faith apart from the works of the law. You’d think people would be overjoyed at that Message, to be relieved of the unbearable weight of God’s Law but most react just the opposite. Even though Jesus teaches throughout Scripture that the Law only condemns, that it has no power to save, that by the law is the knowledge sin. Many still think they deserve heaven! God’s Law acts, in part, like a mirror. When we look into the Law it reflects back the fact that we’ve failed, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God! For that reason, everyone is destitute, penniless of any righteousness within ourselves! 

We have nothing that we can use to bargain with God. But there is Good News, in perfect love for mankind, our Savior died so that we could be forgiven and saved by His grace alone. In Jesus we have unconditional forgiveness of every wrong, no questions asked, no strings attached! as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us! He assures us that He doesn’t even remember them anymore. Through Him the spiritually poor, (you, me, and all people) are given riches beyond measure and understanding! The free riches of God’s forgiving grace in Jesus. Make no mistake, we’re all completely dependent on Jesus’ righteousness alone! 

That’s why He came! to heal the brokenhearted — everyone who realizes our sin and its terrible consequences. Jesus has healed our hearts, washed away our sins; given us peace with our heavenly Father, and a new life of saving faith! Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives. To set free all who were held prisoner by the power of sin and satan. Picture a dungeon, one of our own making, where we and all mankind were imprisoned awaiting eternal death! Our jailor was evil incarnate whose hatred for us goes beyond anything we can imagine! 

Now, picture yourself chained in that dark, wet, dungeon; starving, dying, with no hope and no possible way to escape! That was our fate – until Jesus opened the prison door and set us free. To those blinded by the darkness of unbelief He gives recovery of sight. The Holy Spirit replaces the absolute darkness of death with the Light of Life — the power of God to salvation! No longer are we trapped in the depths of despair. Jesus set at liberty those who are oppressed, those who were slaves of their own mind and its corrupt desires! The souls of all throughout time who were chained in darkness Jesus has set free. He shattered those chains, forever destroying our adversary’s power over us. That’s the greatest act of love in all eternity, willingly taking all mankind’s sins upon Himself and dying the death we deserved to pay the full price for our redemption. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Jesus came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. The time when God extends His saving grace to mankind. That time is right now and for as long as the Lord permits the world to continue! Jesus then spoke a most glorious revelation of mankind’s redemption; today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. This Message of perfect love and forgiveness, deliverance and life, is for all mankind! It’s the greatest Message of peace and love the world will ever know!

The OT faithful had waited thousands of years to hear those Words. It had been passed down from generation to generation, and now, before their very eyes, stood the fulfilment! Jesus the Messiah had come! But most had fallen into the deep and deadly sleep of spiritual indifference! Many no longer cared, they couldn’t even see why they needed to be forgiven, they thought they were good with God. It’s the same today! The saving Gospel, Jesus crucified for the sins of the world, often falls on indifferent ears. 

By God’s grace we celebrate what the world despises and laughs at, our Lord’s Message of full and free salvation! Jesus has set us free from the prison of eternal death by forgiving us! He still freely gives that life and salvation to everyone who asks! He promises; ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. That’s our Savior’s boundless love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. That perfect love forever stands revealed on Calvary! 

But sadly, many are still blinded by unbelief, they ridicule and curse the Message of Life and Its Author! Their minds have been deceived by the world and its prince, they’ve turned their ears away from the truth! They’ve grown indifferent and quite simply — just don’t care. 

But, what about us? Have we grown spiritual indifferent?

Do we still trust in Jesus alone for life and salvation?

Do we still look to Jesus alone for strength and courage? 

Do we still build our faith on the eternal foundation of His saving Word alone? 

Do we still find joy in serving our Lord with our gifts? 

Do we still have a burning zeal to share His saving Gospel with the world around us?

If not, we’re dead! We’ve fallen back into the death He saved us from! By God’s grace the Christian faith still burns brightly in this congregation. But we must always be on our guard! May the Spirit enable us to always see (through eyes of faith) what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God?

Jay Hartmann

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‘Be Still and Know’

woman surrounded by smoke illustration Photo by Shelby Miller

Be still my soul
Be still
Before your God
The Maker of heaven and earth
Be still my soul
Be still
For Jesus is with you
He is the only begotten of the Father
Be still my soul
Why so distressed?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
He is from everlasting
To everlasting
Be still my soul
Be still my beloved
He comes to you
He is the bright morning star
Daughter of the King
Here he comes
Riding on a donkey
Be still O my soul
Be still
He is the River of Life
He is the manna from heaven
Taste and see
The goodness of the Lord
O be still my beloved
My Hands hold your heart
I soothe all your wounds
I bring healing on my wings
O be still my precious child
For I am the LORD that healeth thee
Be still and know that I am God

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Ah Oceans of blue: A Poem For The Brokenhearted

Ah Oceans of blue by Jacqui Julyan

Ah Oceans of blue
Whose waves toss and curl shouting in the wind
You who spit and foam out onto the seashore
Your depths no one can fathom
Ah Oceans of blue
Your roars shatter out all other sounds
Yet, you calm the tempest of my soul
Your depths so impenetrable
Ah Oceans of blue
The winds have abated your presence is calm
Yet, who can tell what direction lies ahead?
Who can know of your intent?
Ah Oceans of blue
You whose waves when provoked
Crash constantly
Incessantly
Your mouth opens and spews out its salty substance
Who can rein in your majestic temperament?
Ah Oceans of blue
Whose waters mirror the colours of the heavens
Whose sea is as glass like unto crystal
Your Maker on His Throne
Ah Oceans of blue
You who raised up Jonah at the LORD’s command
Whose home shelters all living moving creatures
From Him who spoke His Word of blessing and life
Ah Oceans of blue
You who bowed to the Messiah’s words ‘Be Still’
Your Master, Jesus, walked upon your back
Calm in belief whilst others sank in unbelief
Ah Oceans of blue
Gathered together from the beginning of time
The waters He called Seas
The One who saw you and proclaimed ‘it was good’
Ah Oceans of blue
You whose waves continue to toss and curl
Your depths no can fathom
Who can know of your intent?
Ah Oceans of blue
You whose purpose is good
Gathered together from the beginning of time
For the LORD is your Maker
Ah Oceans of blue
The voice of the LORD roars
Who can know of His intent?
Only Jesus as He walks and declares
‘Be Still and know that I am God’

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Christ, the unleavened Bread of Heaven

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature.

The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one.

We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place.

The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin.

We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our feast of unleavened bread — You are the bread of life, the living bread, the unleavened bread with no sin, leaven, or defiling things, and we can eat You to live because of You. We want to feast on You, Lord, as the unleavened bread, so that we may live a sinless and pure church life. Lord, we cooperate with You to purge out anything sinful and defiling, so that we may live because of the unleavened Christ that we have eaten. May we feast on You, Lord, for our whole life, until we become a new lump, with no leaven!

Facts

Celebrating Feast of Unleavened Bread

In Israel, Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days celebrated as legal holidays and as holy days involving holiday meals, special prayer services, and abstention from work; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed (“Weekdays [of] the Festival“).

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For He Alone Is Worthy: A Poem For The Brokenhearted

(Chapter One) Growing up as a "Born In" Jehovah's Witness - Bio

Oh, blackened calloused hearts of men
Who mock the children of God
Innocent are they that are redeemed of the LORD
For He alone brings mercy unto salvation
Blue hearts, frozen in pride
Eyes shut, ears closed to the cries of the poor
Yet, those who give to the poor lend to the LORD
For He alone brings hope unto peace
Destruction is swift and sure
For those who fear not the One who alone is Holy
False whispers of peace hide in dark places
Yet, He alone, omnipotent, sees into every heart
Oh, children of God, born from above
Fear not!
For He alone is with thee
Fear not!
Though the bells ring peace
Know destruction will suddenly come
Fore He alone
Is your Rock
Your salvation
On Him you stand
The time is drawing near
The trumpets are ablaze with holy fire
The wrath of God is revealed to those bent on evil
All creation groans together waiting for that glorious Day
For He alone is El Shaddai
For He alone paid for your sins with His own blood
For He alone is the Alpha and Omega
For He alone is your only Saviour
Jesus who was, and who is and who is to come
Amen

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To My Strong-Willed Child, I See You

To My Strong-Willed Child, I See You

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13.

Let all bear in mind that the Christian ministration is not a work for drones. God calls for men who will do and dare danger. Hold no parleying with Satan, but meet him with “It is written.” “Quit you like men, be strong.” Faith alone, unfeigned, can be the basis of our actions and prove by a clean, pure example that it is possible to be active, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11), and then all commercial enterprises will be conducted on Bible principles….

We wish to repeat over and over again, until it is indelibly imprinted upon the heart, the blessed invitation, Abide in Me. Read the Word, and in the light of a “Thus saith the Lord,” meditate upon it. Pray until the lesson and meaning of abiding in is fully learned, accompanied with its claims and its promises. The Holy Spirit, Christ’s representative, is now in our world to bring all things to our remembrance, that His claims shall not be forgotten or neglected. Read the Word and pray. Meditate on the Scriptures until the understanding, the gate to the door to the heart, is opened to comprehend its requirements and our dependence. Those who will wait to hear what the Spirit saith unto them shall not hear in vain. Fix the eye upon Christ alone in quiet waiting upon Him to hear His voice saying, “Abide in me, and I in you.” …

There are many who come to the Saviour in a feeble way. They receive baptism and yet there is no apparent change in their character. We would invite all to come, all to abide in Christ, to advance daily in the perfection of character by abiding in Christ. As they do this, they find that rest that can come only through perfect obedience.

But I warn you, be careful how you settle down in the middle walk between spirituality and worldliness. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). You will be wholly on one side or the other…. Christ draws to His side; Satan hangs out every attraction to draw on his side. Whom will you choose? Under whose banner will you stand?

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#hashtags on Godinterest

Love Your Neighbour

It started on Twitter and it continues to be a driving force there, with trending topics almost always beginning with #. Although it’s now been cited more times than some can count, the research on Twitter suggests hashtags can’t be overstated.

A hashtag is a label for content. It helps others who are interested in a certain topic, quickly find content on that same topic. A hashtag looks something like this: #MarathonBombings or #SmallBizQuote. Hashtags are used mostly on social media sites.

Using hashtags to categorize posts by keyword:

  • People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their posts to categorize those posts and help them show more easily in a status.online Search. 
  • Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other posts marked with that keyword.
  • Hashtags can occur anywhere in the post body — at the beginning, middle, or end.
  • Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

Using hashtags correctly:

  • If you post with a hashtag on a public account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your post
  • Don’t #spam #with . Don’t over-tag a single post. (we recommend using no more than 2 hashtags per post.)
  • Use hashtags only on posts relevant to the topic. 

Trending Community Hashtags

#comeandfollowme#doyouloveme#followingjesus#freetofail#godrestores#holyweek#holyweek2018#mark2

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The Religion Blogosphere

Mission

Welcome to the world of Godinterest weblogs, (or blogs), and the cyberspace they all inhabit, known as the blogosphere. Godinterest bloggers connect to mainstream news sites, other non-faith blogs, and online collaborative knowledge networks such as Wikipedia and can be anything from personal diaries to daily screeds about current events. Some are highly opinionated and include funny personal stories. But their content is also unique as many spiritual blogs are written by people seriously engaging with their faith. Some bloggers write specifically about sacred texts. Others are more culturally oriented, covering the ways faith intersects with the arts and politics. By chronicling how they experience faith in their everyday lives, Godinterest bloggers are not only connecting with the wider public, but also to themselves and are gradually carving out their own section of the blogosphere.

Godinterest is a project of designer, journalist, social & new formats editor and grateful christian dad, Dean Jones.

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God’s Wisdom and You

Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known to me now what we desired of You”¦.”

– Daniel 2:20-23

Daniel was giving thanks to the Lord for revealing to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Less familiar portions of the Bible can have gold nuggets hidden in them, and so it is here. There’s a lot of treasure for prophetic people in this short passage, so let’s take a look at what God has for us.

God desires to share His wisdom with us.

Daniel starts out by extolling God for His wisdom and might. He mentions that these two qualities belong to the Lord: they are His. He ends with thanking and praising the Lord, “Who has given me wisdom and might.”

Isn’t it amazing that the Lord of the whole universe delights to bestow on us what He possesses? Paul says in Romans 8:32, “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?” He also stated, in 1 Corinthians 3:21, 22, “”¦All things are yours, whether ”¦ the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.” We so easily take the gifts of God for granted, but if we would think about them more deeply, our hearts would be inspired to overwhelming awe.

All true wisdom originates with the Lord. We cannot get it anywhere else. We should not even attempt to glean wisdom from so-called wise men who do not worship the true God, nor should we attempt to use their techniques for achieving peace or revelation. In Christ alone “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Furthermore, “Beware, so that no one spoils you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:8, 9).

Now, the Holy Spirit might enlighten us to a portion of His wisdom through another person. He does that through sermons, godly counsel, and the word gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. We should also expect to receive wisdom directly from the Lord. But there is no other source of wisdom besides Him, and we get ourselves into a mess of deception if we go looking for it outside of Him. We can have confidence that, if we ask Him, He will be eager to give it, because He has already promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all men liberally and does not upbraid [reproach], and it shall be given to him” (James 1:5).

God changes the times and seasons.

Whether it is what is going on in our personal lives, or in our nation and the world, we need to stay keenly aware that God has specific times and seasons for things. When His season is up, He moves on. We must stay attuned to Him, so that we don’t miss His shifts from one thing into another. When He is breathing life into something, it continues, increases, and thrives. But when He is done with it, it’s dead. You can enthusiastically kick that horse all you want, but without the Lord’s life in it, it’s not going anywhere.

Most of us like staying put in what is familiar. Change is disconcerting. Jesus commented on this tendency, when He likened the old and new covenants to wineskins. He said, “No man also having drunk old wine immediately desires new: for he says, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39).

When upheaval is happening in our personal lives or in the nation or world, it is often because God is preparing a new thing. If we understand this, we will not let what we observe in the natural make us afraid. Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who does all things well (Mark 7:37), and be ready to move with Him – even quickly. There is blessing for the person who is open to the new works of God.

Lately I have been praying, “Lord, help me to recognize when You are shifting the seasons, give me Your understanding of how to respond, and help me to keep up with You!”

There are a few more lessons we can learn from Daniel 2:20-23. We’ll continue with them next time.

More at Out of the Fire

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Beautiful Message

Beautiful Message ????? ????? ?????

A rich man looked through his window and saw a poor man picking something from his dustbin ”¦ He said, Thank GOD I’m not poor.

The poor man looked around and saw a naked man misbehaving on the street ”¦ He said, Thank GOD I’m not mad;

The mad man looked ahead and saw an ambulance carrying a patient ”¦ He said, Thank GOD am not sick;

Then a sick person in hospital saw a trolley taking a dead body to the mortuary ”¦ He said, Thank GOD I’m not dead;

Only a dead person cannot thank God;

Why don’t you thank GOD today for all your blessings and for the gift of life ”¦ for another beautiful day;

What is LIFE? To understand life better, you have to go to 3 locations: ?

Hospital 2. Prison 3. Cemetery;

At the Hospital, you will understand that nothing is more beautiful than HEALTH. ?

In the Prison, you’ll see that FREEDOM is the most precious thing;

At the Cemetery, you will realize that life is worth nothing. The ground that we are walking on today will be our roof tomorrow.

Sad Truth* : We all come with Nothing and we will go with Nothing ”¦ Let us, therefore, remain humble and be thankful & grateful to God at all times for everything.

Could you please share this with someone else, and let them know that God loves them 96% of people won’t share it, but if you are 1 of 4% share this truth to your friends.

 

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