Wednesday, March 21, 2018
365 Blessings- March 21
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29)
Spiritually and physically, most of us grow weary and weak at one time or the other. It just happens, even to them who live very close to the Lord. Moses was a man who spent much time in the presence of the Lord. God spoke to him like a man speaks to his friend. Twice he fasted and prayed for 40 days and was continually in God's presence during those days. Yet there were times when Moses became weak and weary. Perhaps the burdens on his life were too great and he snapped under the pressure of it all. It happens to most of us. And does God understand? Yes, he does.
The Bible says,
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13, 14)
Yes...he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
We need to continually lean on the Lord for he is the fountain of strength, both spiritual and physical. The verses following the title verse here say,
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30, 31)
Are you feeling weak spiritually or physically these days? God doesn't condemn you for not being spiritually strong like you were before. He understands the bodily pain and weakness that you suffer. God will renew your strength. He will build you up with the Holy Spirit. You will soar on wings like eagles and that will bring glory to him.
Always remember...He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Spiritually and physically, most of us grow weary and weak at one time or the other. It just happens, even to them who live very close to the Lord. Moses was a man who spent much time in the presence of the Lord. God spoke to him like a man speaks to his friend. Twice he fasted and prayed for 40 days and was continually in God's presence during those days. Yet there were times when Moses became weak and weary. Perhaps the burdens on his life were too great and he snapped under the pressure of it all. It happens to most of us. And does God understand? Yes, he does.
The Bible says,
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13, 14)
Yes...he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
We need to continually lean on the Lord for he is the fountain of strength, both spiritual and physical. The verses following the title verse here say,
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30, 31)
Are you feeling weak spiritually or physically these days? God doesn't condemn you for not being spiritually strong like you were before. He understands the bodily pain and weakness that you suffer. God will renew your strength. He will build you up with the Holy Spirit. You will soar on wings like eagles and that will bring glory to him.
Always remember...He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Monday, March 19, 2018
365 Blessings- March 19
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:23- 25)
How wonderful a promise! It says that Jesus, the permanent high priest, always lives to intercede for everyone who comes to God through him. Even when there is no one praying and interceding for you, Jesus is, because you are invaluable to him. When you are ill and tired and weary and can't pray, Jesus is interceding for you. When you are in mental agony and cannot bring words in your heart and mouth as prayer, Jesus is interceding for you. Can you believe that?
The Bible says,
Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:26)
Jesus is the perfect intercessor. A human intercessor may have faults and sins in his life which may be a hindrance to his prayer being answered, but here is someone who is holy, blameless and pure; whose prayer God will surely answer. He is set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens.
Not only Jesus, but even the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in the presence of the father.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26)
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:27)
The next time when you feel that you are all alone and that there is no one to pray and intercede for you, remember these promises. Jesus, the permanent high priest and the Counselor, the Holy Spirit are always there, continually interceding for you in the presence of the Father.
How wonderful a promise! It says that Jesus, the permanent high priest, always lives to intercede for everyone who comes to God through him. Even when there is no one praying and interceding for you, Jesus is, because you are invaluable to him. When you are ill and tired and weary and can't pray, Jesus is interceding for you. When you are in mental agony and cannot bring words in your heart and mouth as prayer, Jesus is interceding for you. Can you believe that?
The Bible says,
Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:26)
Jesus is the perfect intercessor. A human intercessor may have faults and sins in his life which may be a hindrance to his prayer being answered, but here is someone who is holy, blameless and pure; whose prayer God will surely answer. He is set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens.
Not only Jesus, but even the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in the presence of the father.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26)
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:27)
The next time when you feel that you are all alone and that there is no one to pray and intercede for you, remember these promises. Jesus, the permanent high priest and the Counselor, the Holy Spirit are always there, continually interceding for you in the presence of the Father.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
365 Blessings- March 18
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." (1 Kings 17:9)
Faith life can be exciting and intriguing at times. Earlier God had directed Elijah to the Kerith Ravine and told that he would be fed by ravens; the water from the brook there would quench his thirst. The quencher (brook) finally got quenched and God gave him new directions of which we read in the title verses.
Interestingly God didn't specify which widow in Zarepath he was to meet. The address was not complete yet Elijah went nevertheless in unquestioning obedience. And the Bible says,
When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" (1 Kings 17:10)
Jesus once said,
I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. (Luke 4:25, 26)
It was not just coincidence that Elijah had come to the right address, God had guided his steps. Yes, God does that for his children. The Bible says,
Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. (Psalm 25:12)
Elijah first asked the widow for a drink and then for a piece of bread. A drink of water she could afford to give, but the bread was the last one she could make from what flour and oil she had left so that she and her son could have a last meal together before they died.
Then came the prophesy and promise from God that changed her life.
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land." (1 Kings 17:13,14)
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:15, 16)
When there is famine in the land, God will feed his children. He is faithful. Hope in him. The God of Elijah is your God too. The God who did a great miracle in the home of the widow of Zarepath is your God too. Trust in him.
Faith life can be exciting and intriguing at times. Earlier God had directed Elijah to the Kerith Ravine and told that he would be fed by ravens; the water from the brook there would quench his thirst. The quencher (brook) finally got quenched and God gave him new directions of which we read in the title verses.
Interestingly God didn't specify which widow in Zarepath he was to meet. The address was not complete yet Elijah went nevertheless in unquestioning obedience. And the Bible says,
When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" (1 Kings 17:10)
Jesus once said,
I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. (Luke 4:25, 26)
It was not just coincidence that Elijah had come to the right address, God had guided his steps. Yes, God does that for his children. The Bible says,
Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. (Psalm 25:12)
Elijah first asked the widow for a drink and then for a piece of bread. A drink of water she could afford to give, but the bread was the last one she could make from what flour and oil she had left so that she and her son could have a last meal together before they died.
Then came the prophesy and promise from God that changed her life.
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land." (1 Kings 17:13,14)
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:15, 16)
When there is famine in the land, God will feed his children. He is faithful. Hope in him. The God of Elijah is your God too. The God who did a great miracle in the home of the widow of Zarepath is your God too. Trust in him.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
365 Blessings- March 17
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:3)
The Old Testament saint Job yearned to die while undergoing bodily and mental torture at the hands of satan, but he couldn't and wouldn't die because God had already planned to bless him after the period of suffering. Job couldn't stand the torture anymore and complained bitterly. Everyday that he lived was agony personified. His friends accused him, his body was sore and his mind was in utter confusion.He wanted to argue with God regarding his condition but couldn't find him amidst his chaos.
He accused God of many things.
"If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas - no wonder my words have been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me. (Job 6:2-4)
He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. (Job 23:14)
His threshold of bearing insults and sufferings were reaching it's zenith. And when he thought the torture saga would never end, suddenly everything changed. Was it a dream? Was he seeing visions? No it was reality. His health, his friends, his family, his livestock and a lot more just came back to him in a new way. It just happened. The Lord Almighty opened a new chapter in his life, a chapter that lasted 140 years. He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
And the Bible ends his story by saying,
And so he died, old and full of years. (Job 42:17)
There's hope for you and me...because (as Job said amidst his sufferings).... My Redeemer lives.
The Old Testament saint Job yearned to die while undergoing bodily and mental torture at the hands of satan, but he couldn't and wouldn't die because God had already planned to bless him after the period of suffering. Job couldn't stand the torture anymore and complained bitterly. Everyday that he lived was agony personified. His friends accused him, his body was sore and his mind was in utter confusion.He wanted to argue with God regarding his condition but couldn't find him amidst his chaos.
He accused God of many things.
"If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas - no wonder my words have been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me. (Job 6:2-4)
He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. (Job 23:14)
His threshold of bearing insults and sufferings were reaching it's zenith. And when he thought the torture saga would never end, suddenly everything changed. Was it a dream? Was he seeing visions? No it was reality. His health, his friends, his family, his livestock and a lot more just came back to him in a new way. It just happened. The Lord Almighty opened a new chapter in his life, a chapter that lasted 140 years. He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
And the Bible ends his story by saying,
And so he died, old and full of years. (Job 42:17)
There's hope for you and me...because (as Job said amidst his sufferings).... My Redeemer lives.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Daily Devotional- March 15
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for
his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your
faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23)
Sometimes believer's tend to think that it's because of their faithfulness that the Lord is blessing them. In one way, this may account for several blessings but if we realize the utter helplessness of man without God, we would be able to affirm what Jeremiah says in the verses given above.
It's God's love for us that keeps us going amidst life's uncertainities. If you are the only one in your family who has acknowledged salvation through Jesus, how great a responsibility lies on your shoulders. It's like you holding an umbrella in incessant rain and all your family members are sheltered under this umbrella that you hold. In such a situation, it's your prayers that are so very important for the others. Your pleading for them to acknowledge Christ may fall on deaf ears yet they may be escaping from dangerous situations in their lives because of your prayers. They may never realize that or realizing they may ignore it. And the futility of it all can make one despair.
Jeremiah understood life's vagaries firsthand and thus strengthened himself while lamenting for Israel. His prophesies fell on deaf ears and he was often frustrated by the hatred and torture that he had to face.
When Jerusalem was destroyed and the people went into exile, the prophet lamented the downfall and penned his thoughts in this book called Lamentations.
Yet he found solace when he thought of the Lord's faithfulness amidst all these calamities and thus he writes,
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23)
May the Holy Spirit help us to meditate on the faithfulness of God and be strengthened amidst situations in our lives where things don't seem to be progressing as we wish it had. Remember, his compassions never fail, they are new every morning.
Sometimes believer's tend to think that it's because of their faithfulness that the Lord is blessing them. In one way, this may account for several blessings but if we realize the utter helplessness of man without God, we would be able to affirm what Jeremiah says in the verses given above.
It's God's love for us that keeps us going amidst life's uncertainities. If you are the only one in your family who has acknowledged salvation through Jesus, how great a responsibility lies on your shoulders. It's like you holding an umbrella in incessant rain and all your family members are sheltered under this umbrella that you hold. In such a situation, it's your prayers that are so very important for the others. Your pleading for them to acknowledge Christ may fall on deaf ears yet they may be escaping from dangerous situations in their lives because of your prayers. They may never realize that or realizing they may ignore it. And the futility of it all can make one despair.
Jeremiah understood life's vagaries firsthand and thus strengthened himself while lamenting for Israel. His prophesies fell on deaf ears and he was often frustrated by the hatred and torture that he had to face.
When Jerusalem was destroyed and the people went into exile, the prophet lamented the downfall and penned his thoughts in this book called Lamentations.
Yet he found solace when he thought of the Lord's faithfulness amidst all these calamities and thus he writes,
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23)
May the Holy Spirit help us to meditate on the faithfulness of God and be strengthened amidst situations in our lives where things don't seem to be progressing as we wish it had. Remember, his compassions never fail, they are new every morning.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Monday, March 12, 2018
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Monday, March 5, 2018
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Thursday, March 1, 2018
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