DRAWN BY HIS POWER :
Mark 1:37, "And when they had found him, they said unto hm, All [men] seek for thee."
This is an amazing statement. Jesus' ministry was only a few months old and the masses of people were already seeking him out.
This is even more astonishing when you realize that Jesus had not used any of the conventional methods of publicity. In fact, Jesus had already rejected publicity during His first ministry in Jerusalem (Jn. 2:24-25). There was no natural explanation for Jesus' success.
God is the one who promoted Jesus. And He used supernatural means to do it. It was not the slick techniques of Madison Avenue that brought the crowds--it was the awesome manifestation of God's power.
Just the day before, Jesus had cast the demon out of a man at the synagogue in Capernaum (Mk. 1:21-28). This caused the whole city to gather at Peter's house and Jesus healed every one of them (Lk. 4:40).
Jesus' display of the miraculous power of God was the spark that the Holy Spirit used to light a fire in the hearts of these people. Jesus had this power because of His intimate relationship with His father. It is no accident that He was praying while all men were seeking Him.
As you seek to touch others with the new life that you've found in Christ, let God confirm His Word with the miraculous manifestations of His power through you.
THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION :
JOHN 8:11 - … “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
When Jesus was on earth, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him by the scribes and Pharisees, the religious mafia of His day. They tried to trap Him by posing a question that was difficult to answer: “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5)
Jesus answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) The scribes and Pharisees began to leave one by one till none of them were left.
The people in the crowd who wanted to condemn the woman could not. But Jesus, the only one in the crowd who truly had the power to condemn her, would not. He then asked her, “Woman…Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10)
He spoke such words of grace to her because He loved her. Also, by asking her the question, He was giving her a chance to speak words of no condemnation to herself—“No one [condemns me], Lord.” (John8:11)
Jesus not only spoke words of grace to her, He also gave her the gift of no condemnation—“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”. It was when she received the gift of no condemnation that she had the power to “go and sin no more”.
Today, you have the gift of no condemnation because the Son of God was condemned for all your sins. (Romans 8:1) Today, God cannot condemn you when you sin because He is faithful and just to what His Son has done.
So if the devil tries to convince you that God is angry with you when you blow it, just say, “God does not condemn me today because He has already condemned Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago!”
Unfortunately, we still hear people saying, “Go and sin no more first, then I won’t condemn you.” Maybe you have been saying this to yourself too. But God says, “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He gives you the gift of no condemnation, so that you have the strength to go and sin no more!
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.—Romans 8:1, NASB
Through ministering to people over the years, I’ve found that many are sick because of guilt and condemnation. People condemn themselves for their sins and failures, receive condemnation from others and even think that God is condemning them to a life of sickness. But what most do not realize is that condemnation kills! Beloved, the good news of the gospel is that there is ABSOLUTELY no condemnation for us who are in Christ, because Christ has already been condemned in our place at Calvary! So freely receive God’s gift of no condemnation today by meditating on and thanking Him for it. When you reach out and receive God’s gift of no condemnation, you’ll receive your healing and the wholeness you desire, fully paid for by the blood of His Son! Amen!
Joy: A Very Real Force
The joy of the Lord is your strength. - Nehemiah 8:10
Joy. It's not a warm, happy feeling you're supposed to have now and then when things are going well. It's much more than that. Joy is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in the world.
Look again at Nehemiah 8:10 and I'll show you why. If you were to diagram that scripture and remove the phrase, "of the Lord," you would find what it's truly saying is this: Joy is strength. The two are interchangeable.
That's what makes joy so crucial. You can't live a life of faith without being strong in the Lord--and when God wants to make you strong, joy is what He uses to do the job!
Joy is not just a state of mind. It is not a fleeting emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn't have anything that can stand up against it. Just as fear has to yield to faith, discouragement has to yield to joy.
Since joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it, and live by it if you want to enjoy its power.
Whatever circumstances you are facing today, you can be full of joy. You can be strong in the Lord. You can draw on the supply of the Holy Spirit within you and come out on top.
Rejoice!
Mark 1:37, "And when they had found him, they said unto hm, All [men] seek for thee."
This is an amazing statement. Jesus' ministry was only a few months old and the masses of people were already seeking him out.
This is even more astonishing when you realize that Jesus had not used any of the conventional methods of publicity. In fact, Jesus had already rejected publicity during His first ministry in Jerusalem (Jn. 2:24-25). There was no natural explanation for Jesus' success.
God is the one who promoted Jesus. And He used supernatural means to do it. It was not the slick techniques of Madison Avenue that brought the crowds--it was the awesome manifestation of God's power.
Just the day before, Jesus had cast the demon out of a man at the synagogue in Capernaum (Mk. 1:21-28). This caused the whole city to gather at Peter's house and Jesus healed every one of them (Lk. 4:40).
Jesus' display of the miraculous power of God was the spark that the Holy Spirit used to light a fire in the hearts of these people. Jesus had this power because of His intimate relationship with His father. It is no accident that He was praying while all men were seeking Him.
As you seek to touch others with the new life that you've found in Christ, let God confirm His Word with the miraculous manifestations of His power through you.
THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION :
JOHN 8:11 - … “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
When Jesus was on earth, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him by the scribes and Pharisees, the religious mafia of His day. They tried to trap Him by posing a question that was difficult to answer: “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5)
Jesus answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) The scribes and Pharisees began to leave one by one till none of them were left.
The people in the crowd who wanted to condemn the woman could not. But Jesus, the only one in the crowd who truly had the power to condemn her, would not. He then asked her, “Woman…Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10)
He spoke such words of grace to her because He loved her. Also, by asking her the question, He was giving her a chance to speak words of no condemnation to herself—“No one [condemns me], Lord.” (John8:11)
Jesus not only spoke words of grace to her, He also gave her the gift of no condemnation—“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”. It was when she received the gift of no condemnation that she had the power to “go and sin no more”.
Today, you have the gift of no condemnation because the Son of God was condemned for all your sins. (Romans 8:1) Today, God cannot condemn you when you sin because He is faithful and just to what His Son has done.
So if the devil tries to convince you that God is angry with you when you blow it, just say, “God does not condemn me today because He has already condemned Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago!”
Unfortunately, we still hear people saying, “Go and sin no more first, then I won’t condemn you.” Maybe you have been saying this to yourself too. But God says, “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He gives you the gift of no condemnation, so that you have the strength to go and sin no more!
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.—Romans 8:1, NASB
Through ministering to people over the years, I’ve found that many are sick because of guilt and condemnation. People condemn themselves for their sins and failures, receive condemnation from others and even think that God is condemning them to a life of sickness. But what most do not realize is that condemnation kills! Beloved, the good news of the gospel is that there is ABSOLUTELY no condemnation for us who are in Christ, because Christ has already been condemned in our place at Calvary! So freely receive God’s gift of no condemnation today by meditating on and thanking Him for it. When you reach out and receive God’s gift of no condemnation, you’ll receive your healing and the wholeness you desire, fully paid for by the blood of His Son! Amen!
Joy: A Very Real Force
The joy of the Lord is your strength. - Nehemiah 8:10
Joy. It's not a warm, happy feeling you're supposed to have now and then when things are going well. It's much more than that. Joy is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in the world.
Look again at Nehemiah 8:10 and I'll show you why. If you were to diagram that scripture and remove the phrase, "of the Lord," you would find what it's truly saying is this: Joy is strength. The two are interchangeable.
That's what makes joy so crucial. You can't live a life of faith without being strong in the Lord--and when God wants to make you strong, joy is what He uses to do the job!
Joy is not just a state of mind. It is not a fleeting emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn't have anything that can stand up against it. Just as fear has to yield to faith, discouragement has to yield to joy.
Since joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it, and live by it if you want to enjoy its power.
Whatever circumstances you are facing today, you can be full of joy. You can be strong in the Lord. You can draw on the supply of the Holy Spirit within you and come out on top.
Rejoice!
NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD:
‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. - Jeremiah 32:17
Our minds tend to see our problems as big or small. Even when we pray for the sick, we say things like, “You have a headache? No problem. Let’s pray for your healing.” But when it is cancer, we say, “Oh, let’s tell the senior pastor about it. It would be better if he prayed for you.” We think of head-aches as small problems and cancers as big ones.
But that is not the way God thinks. There is nothing too hard for Him who made the heavens and the earth! With God, there is no such thing as a “big” problem. In fact, the “bigger” the problem, the “easier” it is for Him! In the feeding of the 5,000, it took only five loaves to feed the multitude. (Matthew 14:15–21) But in the feeding of the smaller multitude of 4,000, it took seven loaves. (Matthew 15:32–38)
In man’s scheme of things, it should take more loaves to feed more people. But this is not so with God. It took fewer loaves to feed more people. This is God’s way of telling us that the “bigger” the problem, the “easier” it is for Him. I am not saying that small problems are hard for God. But it is so encouraging to think that it is “easier” for God to heal cancers than headaches!
Imagine coming to God with a big problem. “So, what is your problem, son?” God asks. You say, “Father, it is a huge financial debt — not thousands but millions!” He says, “Easy. It is already cancelled.”
In another scenario, God asks, “So, what is your problem, son?” You say, “Father, I have lost my job and I can’t find a new one. I am already in my fifties and I don’t have the necessary qualifications.” He says, “No problem. Consider yourself employed. And in this new job, you won’t just have a job, you will have a position.”
Beloved, with God, it is never a problem because there is nothing too hard for Him!
Thought For The Day :
With God, your problem — small or big — is never a problem because there is nothing too hard for Him!
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