"And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:5
Some people let circumstances control them and they often feel like victims. But others experience life on a more even keel. Circumstances may become difficult, but they're constantly overcoming those difficult circumstances. They weather the storms with the confidence that circumstances have no power to defeat them. Which are you? Victim or Overcomer? People who have a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ experience great strength and inner peace no matter what their circumstances. They don't see themselves as victims, but always as overcomers. It's a real key to successful living. You have probably noticed that the Bible is a very large and complex book. Actually the Bible is a compilation of 66 “books”, including histories, song collections, theological treatises, and personal letters. Written by some 40 writers over hundreds of years; the Bible contains more than 31,000 verses, and upward of 780,000 words.
Yet there are five simple truths throughout the Bible that creates a universal theme: 1) God created everything “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) “Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) 2) Sin is destructive “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden his face from you” (Isaiah 59:2) 3) We are very important to God “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?” (Psalm 8:4) “God send his Son…to redeem those who were under the law” (Galatians 4:4-5) 4) Jesus’ teachings are very simple “I fear, lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) “The foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) 5) Faith conquers fear “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? (Mark 4:40) “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18) As time goes on we will go further into each of these truths so that we may know and understand what the Bible is all about. Prayer: Heavenly Father thank You for Your Word, help me consider and appreciate Your Word in Jesus’ Name…amen God’s cure for the common life includes a strong dose of servanthood. It’s a timely reminder. As you celebrate your unique design, be careful. Don’t so focus on what you love to do that you neglect what needs to be done.
A 3:00 AM diaper change fits in very few sweet spots. Visiting your sick neighbor might not come naturally to you. Still the sick need to be encouraged, and diapers need changing. The world needs servants. People like Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve. He chose remote Nazareth over the center-stage in Jerusalem, his dad’s carpentry shop over a marble-columned palace, and three decades of anonymity over a life of popularity. He selected prayer over sleep, the wilderness over the Jordan, feisty apostles over obedient angels. I’d have gone with the angels, given the choice. Not Jesus. He picked the people. He came to serve! May we do the same. Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you
did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference. It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings. - Unknown EPHESIANS 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation…
When the phone rings at odd times, most people think, “Oh dear, it must be bad news.” They don’t think, “I wonder what the good news is that it cannot wait till morning!” When we hear, “The boss wants to see you,” instinctively, we think, “Oh dear, this is not good.” But how do we know that it is not going to be about a promotion? Our minds are inclined toward the negative. So to guard our minds against negative thoughts, we are to put on “the helmet of salvation”, which is “the hope of salvation”. (1 Thessalonians 5:8) If you are going through a trial right now, putting on as a helmet the hope of salvation means that you have a confident expectation of good coming your way. It means that you choose to believe that this trial that you are going through is only temporary because God will see you through it. It means that you believe that this difficult period will end with your salvation—your preservation, wholeness, wellness and health! You may not know what is going to happen this week. But one thing you can do is to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation and tell yourself that you are going to have a fantastic week! “Well, you know, Pastor Prince, you never know what to expect. We hear so much bad news these days—another flu outbreak, another company retrenching its workers…I really hope that I will not be retrenched next. But I cannot be sure. I am keeping my fingers crossed.” No, my friend, biblical hope is not “I hope so” but “I know so”! You can have a confident expectation of good happening to you because you are not like the people of the world. You are a child of the living God. You have a Savior watching over you. There are more angels given charge over you than there are demons against you. And greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4) There is every reason for you to have a confident expectation of good happening to you! “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”, and “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message…which is also what they were destined for.” (1 Peter 2:7-8)
Jesus is the chosen Cornerstone; He is the foundation on which the Church is built. At the same time He is also the Rock that make people stumble over and fall (Romans 9:32-33). When Christians testify how Jesus helps when we pray, that He sets us free from our sins and that we have been born again, that we are new people according to Scripture; family members are often offended at this “New Religion” and easily come up with sayings like: “Don’t force Jesus on me” or “Don’t force the Bible down our throats”. The Bible is not a story book, it’s the biography of a man who died for mankind and His name is Jesus Christ the Son of God, written by the finger of God the Father by His Spirit. The key to the Bible is the very first statement it makes in Genesis 1. “IN THE BEGINNING GOD…” if you do not believe that statement, you will not believe what follows. Prayer: Heavenly Father thank for letting me know about what Your Son did for me. Help me understand Your Word, in Jesus’ Name…amen In Jewish culture dead water referred to standing or stored water. Living water referred to moving water, as in rivers, springs, rainfall. Such living water was precious because it was fresh, it came directly from God
In John 4:12, Jesus offers Samaritan woman living waters, here it means that the more we come to Jesus, through His word and prayer, the more we experience Spiritual renewal John 3:5: Jesus says that no one can see the kingdom of heaven without becoming reborn from the water and spirit, this means that when child of God becomes reborn, the Spirit of God within comes alive, and thereafter this child will become Spiritually renewed and receive revelation of the Truth of Jesus Christ and himself Jesus Christ is in you, all He is waiting for is relationship with you. John 4:13-14 "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." How often don't we feel stagnant in life? Stagnant in our jobs, stagnant in our relationships and stagnant in our walk with the Lord. As tough as it may be to accept or admit, and despite it being much easier and more convenient to blame those around us, our circumstances, trials and tribulations, it is inescapably only when we ourselves impede the flow in our lives that our personal and spiritual growth is dramatically slowed down, even to the point of stagnation. We then often succumb to the hum drum of life, extremely frustrated with our status quo. As with water stagnation, spiritual stagnation adversely affects not only our own life, but also the lives of those around us. Thankfully, the water which the Lord gives us to drink of and to be filled with is living water (John 4:10). It is strong flowing like a river and never runs out or dries up. It always refreshes and purifies our heart, mind and soul and it is a well of living water springing up within us into everlasting life. John 7:37-38 says, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Today, let us not hinder the flow or draw from the stagnant wells of this world, our circumstances or our trials, but, rather, may we be encouraged to eagerly thirst after and drink of the refreshing, healing and purifying living water which comes only from our Lord Jesus Christ, saying, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not...", John 4:15. May the sufficiency of the living water of Christ Jesus be evidenced in our lives and may it overflow through our testimony; to the benefit of our own standing in Christ and to the benefit of those around us. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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