Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Bible Devotional
Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents
and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought
to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and the satraps
sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could
find no occasion nor fault, because he was faithful, neither was there any
error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any
occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law
of his God. (Daniel 6:3-5)
Daniel's enemies
examined his life to find some fault, so that they could bring accusations
against him to the king, but they could find nothing. They found that he was
faithful and without error. Yet, they did not stop there. They knew that Daniel
was a true Israelite and worshiped his God faithfully, so they devised a plan
to trap him in that respect. They made the king sign a royal statute that
whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except the
king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Daniel did not swerve
from his devotion to Almighty God and prayed and worshiped him, as was his
routine; as a consequence, he was thrown in to the lion's den. His enemies were
happy and thought that, that would be the last they saw of Daniel, but God
Almighty had other plans; plans of not only rescuing Daniel and destroying his
enemies, but more importantly, making his power and glory known to a gentile
king.
Daniel had a
testimony and the king had a decree to proclaim....
Daniel said...... My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions' mouths,
and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and
also before you, O king, have I done no hurt. (Daniel 6:22)
The king proclaimed..... I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom
men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and
steadfast forever, His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed; and his
dominion shall be even to the end. (Daniel 6:26)
End of story...... So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in
the reign of Cyrus the Persian. (Daniel 6:28)
If God has blessed
and exalted you, know that the enemy is jealous of you and would want to put
you down, as he did in the life of Daniel, but be assured that the plans of the
enemy will not materialize, for you have found favor with God. Another blessing
awaits you.
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Monday, July 22, 2019
Bible Devotional
But the high
priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the
Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles,
and put them in public custody. But an angel of the Lord opened the prison
doors by night, and brought them out, and said, ‘Go stand and speak in the
temple to the people all the words of this life.’ (Acts 5:17-20)
After Pentecost, many
signs and wonders were done by the apostles among the people and many thousands
were added to the early Church. People carried out the sick into the streets,
and laid them on cots and mattresses, so that as Peter came by, at least his
shadow might overshadow some of them. Great multitudes also came together from
the cities around Jerusalem, bringing sick people, and those who were tormented
by unclean spirits: and they were all healed. The rulers were unable to control
the works of the Apostles, so they put them in prison. But an angel of the Lord
opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out, and said, "Go,
stand and speak in the temple to the people........"
Despite oppositions,
the work of the kingdom of God has progressed miraculously from Pentecost until
today. Many have become martyrs for the Lord; others have labored and entered
in to glory after their work and time on earth were over.
The baton has been
passed on to our generation by them who have preceded us. Despite sufferings,
persecutions and hindrances, the Word of God has gone to many corners of the
world. The Holy Spirit of God is guiding believers to the work that still needs
to be done. God is using his chosen vessels and large numbers are being added
to God's family each day.
A pertinent question
that we should ask ourselves is this.....Are we fulfilling our calling?
At the end of our
earthly journey, will we be able to hear the sweet voice of our Lord Jesus
Christ say..... 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over
a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your
lord.' (Matthew 25:23)
Blessed are they who
know even now, that they will surely hear this from their wonderful Savior.http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Final Word- The well fed sheep and the newbies- Dr. Johnson Cherian
Most born again Christian congregations
that have been in existence for a while have well fed sheep and newbies. The
newbies may be ones who have just been found by the Good Shepherd and brought
in to the flock or ones that are still among the lost and the Spirit of God has
been working on them drawing them to Christ nudging them to take the step of
accepting Jesus as Savior. And guess what, who would the Savior Jesus be more
concerned about? The well fed ones or the newbies? Surely it's the newbies. But
does that mean he doesn't care for the well fed ones? Surely not. He cares for
all his sheep. But he knows that the young ones require more care and he
nurtures them gently and wonderfully, like only he can.
In the parable of the lost
sheep, spoken of by Jesus and of which we read in Luke 15, the shepherd/owner
is so very concerned about the one lost sheep that he is willing to risk
leaving the 99 others in the wilderness and go after that which is lost till he
finds it. That's quite perplexing. What if some of the 99 left in the
wilderness wander away? What if some fall in to a pit? What if wild animals
attack some of them?
The Good Shepherd knows that
the well fed ones will survive a season of drought or mishap or attack by evil
forces, because he himself has provided, protected and delivered them time and
time again as they trusted in him while continuing in prayer, worship and
meditation of his Word. He is confident that the Spirit of God to whom he has
entrusted his sheep and with whom they have been sealed for eternity will guide
them continually through his Word and they will survive against the odds,
entering heaven at God's appointed time.
Timeless inspiration comes
from the Psalmist David and both (well fed and newbie sheep) (believers) can join him by
proclaiming confidently, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want".
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Sunday, June 2, 2019
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