“In order to appreciate and use the Bible (to have intimate/passionate relationship with the word of God), The reader of it must himself have the same spirit (Holy Spirit) which enabled its writers to understand their revelation of God and to record it (Remember David’s last words in 2 Sam 23:2 NLT which says “The Spirit of the Lord Speaks through me; His Words are upon my tongue…”). The Bible is a record, but it is not a dead record of dead persons and events, but a record inspired by the living Spirit who uses it speak to men NOW… It is the medium through which the living God now makes Himself known. But to find it in the Spirit of God the reader must himself have that Spirit” – Marcus Dods.
EXODUS 12:13 …And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
For 400 years, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. Life for them was one of hard labor, pain, loss and even death. When Moses their deliverer came, what soon followed was one plague after another on the Egyptians. But none of the plagues caused Pharaoh to release the Israelites until they put the blood on their doorposts. What nine plagues could not do, the blood did! The Israelites were finally set free because of the blood. Are you under any kind of bondage? Are your loved ones held captive by the destroyer who is bent on destroying them? Plead the blood of the Lamb of God over all that is yours and your family’s. When nothing else seems to work, His blood always works! When I was a teenager doing a stint as a relief teacher in a primary school, one of the girls in my class was absent from school one day. I didn’t think too much about her absence until I returned home that afternoon. As I was praying, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray for her protection and to cover her with the precious blood of Jesus. It was revealed later on that she had been abducted by a notorious serial killer who had murdered a number of young children. My pupil recounted how she had been tied up and offered to the “deities” the killer had in his flat. Miraculously, he released her when the evil spirits found her to be an unsuitable offering. Why was this pupil released unharmed? I believe that she was presented to the deities on the same afternoon that I pleaded the blood of Jesus over her. Of course, the evil spirits did not want her because the Most High God would not allow them to have her. God was protecting her. She was set free because of the blood of Jesus! You see, when you plead the blood of Jesus, the destroyer cannot come near. When he sees the blood, he must respect the blood. He cannot touch what is covered by the blood. The blood of Jesus truly protects and sets you free! Joseph Prince Popular Science has posted a photo gallery on their website entitled ³2011¹s Top 10 New Species.² New species? Absolutely. Science is nowhere near cataloging the wealth of life forms created on, and in, this planet. For an example of that second category, consider the devil¹s worm, a newly discovered worm species found more than half a mile underground in a South African gold mine.
I was most intrigued by a Spanish variety of parasitic wasp. The female flies along less than an inch off the ground and targets ants as its preferred egg incubator. An online video shot at a rate of 300 frames per second records the tiny wasp¹s instantaneous injection of an egg into an ant¹s body. It happens in about one-twentieth of a second. The afflicted ant must then endure the fate of hosting a hatching and growing wasp larva that will eat its way out to maturity. I watched the video yesterday, and I¹ve been thinking about those ants. Something gets implanted almost at the speed of thought, and then grows and destroys from the inside out. A suitable metaphor for some of my own thoughts. A temptation, a worry, an offensive remark ‹ all impact my gray matter in an instant. And if nurtured there, they can eat at my spirit until my joy evaporates and my stress multiplies. For the ant, there are no solutions. That egg is there to stay. For me, thank God, there is a powerful alternative to the scenario just mentioned. I can turn over to Him those issues that plague my inner life. The Psalmist spoke of that process this way: ³Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me² (Psalm 51:10-12, NIV). Confess with me the Word of God over our lives: I am dead to sin but alive to God Romans 6:11 I will study the Word of God and pray 2 Timothy 2:15, Luke 18:1 , I take every thought captive unto the obedience of Jesus Christ, casting down every imagination and every high and lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God 2 Corinthians 10:5. No Weapon that is formed against shall prosper, but every tongue that rises against me in Judgement , I shall show to be in the wrong Isaiah 54:17 I do not think more highly of myself than I ought to in the flesh Romans 12:3 I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress, I will speak fourth the righteousness and praise of God all day long Psalm 17:3 , Psalm 35:28 God has not given me a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7 and I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength Philippians 4:13
"He called ten of His servants." (Luke 19:13)
Have you ever been in a place where the phone kept ringing and nobody answered it? In moments like that it seems everybody is busy with something else, assuming that somebody else will answer the call. But nobody does. After awhile it can get to be quite annoying. There is something irritating about an incessant, unanswered call. Over the years I have noticed a similar thing in the lives of many people — a call that is not being answered. A call from God. Busy with so many other things, and sure that the call is for someone else, many men loose themselves in trivial moments and miss the momentous opportunity to answer the call of God on their lives. Have you answered the call? Missing out on God's call for your life would be the worst thing that could happen. Research shows that one of the greatest fears men face is having lived a meaningless life; a life that didn't matter; a life that made no difference. This dreadful thought haunts even the most accomplished of individuals. Maybe it haunts you even now. Os Guinness wrote, "Our passion is to know that we are fulfilling the purpose for which we are on earth. All other standards of success—wealth, power, position, knowledge, and friendships—all grow tiny and hollow if we do not satisfy this deeper longing.” Each of us long to know that our lives counted; that we accomplished what we were put on this earth to do. Yet, in an odd contradiction, nothing is more common than unrealized potential. Most of us settle for far less than we are capable of being, and of doing. On the one hand we want our lives to count; on the other hand, we seem far too willing to become marginalized into mediocrity. Our only hope is to answer the call of God upon our lives. ..."Stand still and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today...." (Exodus 14:13) The Israelites had just left 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They had fled to the desert, but they had come to a dead end at the Red Sea. Word reached them that Pharaoh had changed his mind. He was sending his troops to recapture the Israelites. They cried out to their leader Moses, complaining that he had brought them that far only to die in the desert. Learning when to move and when to stand is the greatest challenge for a workplace believer. We are trained for action. We are not trained to sit idly and wait. We are trained to solve problems, not wait for them to resolve themselves. However, God says there are times to wait. We are to wait until He says go. If we go before He says go, we likely will make our situation worse. If the Israelites had attempted to cross the Red Sea before it parted, they would have drowned. If they had fled north to try to avoid the Egyptians, God would not have moved in a miraculous way. God cannot work on our behalf if we continually try to solve our problem when He has instructed us to stand still. Standing still is sometimes the greatest action we can do, although it is the most difficult thing to do in the Christian walk. Stand still when He says stand and see the deliverance of the Lord. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Luke 11:2
When Jesus taught us to pray, He began, “Our Father in heaven” (Luke 11:2). It is one of many Scriptures that refers to God as a father. I find it both fascinating and instructive that when God wanted us to know what He is like, He chose to emphasize His fatherhood. What do we know about God as our Father? According to Jesus’ prayer, we know that our Father in heaven is available and attentive to us. It is also clear that He provides for us. He forgives us and protects us from evil (vv.2-4). What a wonderful pattern for fathers who aren’t in heaven! Granted, there is only one perfect Father in the universe, but as such He sets the pace for the rest of us less-than-perfect fathers. I discovered early in my ministry that my children were not impressed with books I wrote, titles I had, or places I spoke. They craved my time and attention, the provision for basic needs, a love that patiently forgave, and the creation of a safe place for them to grow and mature. It’s a short but very profound list of fatherly duties. And what about those who didn’t get a dad who met those needs? Take heart in the fact that if you have been redeemed through Jesus you have a perfect heavenly Father—and He’s the best Father of all. Thank You, God, for being our Father, Shepherd, Guardian, and Guide. We will never outgrow our need for Your love and care. We want to seek You with all our heart that we might know You intimately. The heavenly Father’s arms never tire of holding His children. Moet nooit God as vanselfsprekend aanvaar nie. Moenie te vertroud raak met geestelike dinge nie. Simson het en duur daarvoor betaal. Nadat Delila die geheim van sy krag ontdek het, het sy 'vir Simson op haar skoot aan die slaap gemaak en 'n man geroep, en hy het Simson se sewe haarlokke afgeskeer. So het sy hom laat swak word, sy krag het verdwyn. Toe sy sê: "Die Filistyne is hier, Simson!" het hy wakker geskrik en gedink: ek sal weer uitstap soos die vorige kere en my losruk. Maar hy het nie besef dat die Here hom verlaat het nie Die Filistyne het hom gegryp...' (Rigters 16:19-21 NV). Dis 'n tragiese verhaal. Simson is gebore om Israel na oorwinning te lei. In plaas daarvan het hy toegegee aan kleinlike begeertes, met die vyand geheul en gedink hy kon daarmee wegkom. Luister wat hy sê: 'Ek sal weer uitstap soos die vorige kere...' Maar dit was een keer te veel. Sy ongehoorsaamheid het hom nie voorheen van sy krag ontneem nie, maar wel die keer. Hy het 'n grens oorgesteek en sy sig verloor, sy krag, sy vryheid, sy geloofwaardigheid, en sy diensbaarheid. Uiteindelik is hy as gevangene van die Filistyne dood. Jy mag dink: 'Deesdae se toewyding is effe kras.' Nee, dit is beskermend! Die Bybel sê: '[Wie] die Here respekteer en dien, begin...wysheid kry...' (Spreuke 9:10 BVA). As jy aanhou om ongehoorsaam te wees oor wat God jou aangesê het om te doen en dink jy kan die gevolge ontkom, stuur jy op moeilikheid af. Bekeer jou, maak reg met God en kom terug op die pad terwyl jy nog kan.
Sielskos: Eseg 10-13; Lukas 1:67-80; Ps 139:13-24; Spr 13:25 Are you facing trouble in your business or career? As you read the
following verses, be reminded that career people and businessmen here are likened to seamen in ships. The great waters signify the big world of competition, an ocean of activity. "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. . . . They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end" (Psalm 107:23-27). These people are God's beloved saints. They are in awe of His greatness and power, but a storm breaks out that is beyond their control. It is not judgment for sin, yet suddenly waves are swamping them, swallowing up their boat. They are staggered by problems on all sides, and it looks as if their ship is going down. Suddenly they are confused and perplexed: "Their soul is melted because of trouble" (verse 26). Many career people have told me, "It looks bad. I don't know what happened, but suddenly I'm in a mess." They were able to solve their own problems in the past, and to escape one crisis after another. With this trial, however, there seems to be no way of escape. They are mentally and physically exhausted. How easily we forget that our loving heavenly Father is our partner in our work, regardless of our career or calling. Indeed, nothing happens to us without His involvement. He has power over all our difficulties and He has a reason and purpose behind them all. What can you do when your business partner has no advice and consultants cannot help you? Where do you turn when your spouse, your pastor, your best friend has nothing to say to you? I am not a businessman but I can point you to the seamen in Psalm 107: "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven" (Psalm 107:28-30). |
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