TROUBLE

GROW IN GRACE :

Luke 9:55 "But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."

Jesus was constantly being accused of breaking the law of Moses. He taught differently than the law of Moses (Mt. 5:21-48), and now He rebukes His disciples for desiring to do what an Old Testament prophet did with God's blessing and power. However, Jesus didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.

Jesus came not to destroy men's lives but to save them (Jn. 3:16; 10:10).

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor. 5:19). Jesus was just in doing this because He bore our sins (Isa. 53:4-6) and the accompanying wrath of God (Mt. 27:46; Heb. 2:9). Jesus didn't reject God's judgment against sin; He bore it (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, He was able to extend the grace and mercy of God to those who would have been doomed under the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

The Old Testament law was like a judge passing sentence upon sin. Jesus became our advocate (or lawyer). Even more than that, He became our substitute, bearing "our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24).

He didn't destroy God's judgment; He fulfilled it in Himself, so that we could go free. This forever changed God's dealings with sinful man. In light of what Jesus has done in the New Covenant, we would be rebuked for trying to release God's wrath upon others as was done in the Old Covenant. Likewise, if Jesus would have been on the earth in His physical body, reconciling the world unto Himself in the days of Elijah, then Elijah would have been rebuked for his actions, as recorded in 2 Kings 1:9-15. There is a difference between Old Testament law and New Testament grace. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (Jn. 1:17). Grow in grace.

NO MORE DYING TO DO :

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. – Hebrews 2:9

Death. It's not a popular topic--even among believers. In fact, a great many are just plain scared of it. Oh yes, they talk about having eternal life. Yet when the devil tries to threaten their earthly survival with sickness or calamity, they panic.

Why? Because they haven't learned to look at death through God's eyes. Even though their spirit has been made immortal, they haven't renewed their minds to include that truth. If they had, when the devil tried to push their panic button, they'd just laugh and say, "You can't scare me, devil. I've done all the dying I'm ever going to do!"

That's true, you know. The Word of God says that you, as a born-again believer, are never going to see death (John 8:51). Jesus has been your substitute. He suffered death, so you wouldn't have to. And when He was raised, Hebrews 2:14-15 says, "He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

If you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, the only death you'll ever experience is behind you now. It occurred the instant you received Christ. At that moment, your old self--the one whose nature was to sin and rebel against God--died. Your body didn't die, but your spirit man--the real you-- died to Satan and all of his works. You became "a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17), immortal and absolutely incapable of death!

When you're finished with your work on the earth, you're not going to die. You'll simply shed your earthly shell and relocate to a far more glorious place.

Go to the Word and get God's perspective on death. Make a study of it. Once the reality of your immortality begins to dawn on you, the devil will never be able to threaten you with it again.

THE BIG COMEBACK

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9

Chad Pennington is a former American football player who has suffered multiple career-threatening injuries. Twice, his injuries forced him to endure surgery, months of physical therapy, and weeks of training to get back onto the field. Yet, both times he not only returned to playing but he also excelled at such a high level that he was named Comeback Player of the Year in the National Football League. For Pennington, his efforts were an expression of his determination to return to football.

Spiritually, when sin and failure break our relationship with God and sideline our service, determination alone is not what restores us to rightness with God and usefulness in His kingdom. When we are sidelined because of sin, the path to a comeback is confession as well. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

For us to be able to recover from our spiritual failings, we are absolutely dependent on the One who gave Himself for us. And that gives us hope. Christ, who died for us, loves us with an everlasting love and will respond with grace as we confess our faults to Him. Through confession, we can find His gracious restoration—the greatest of all comebacks.

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Confession is the path that leads to restoration.

GOD IS A RESTORER :

At some point in our lives, every one of us has missed out on God-given opportunities. Maybe you can think of a few right now. If so, I want to encourage you: Don’t live in regret. Don’t let lost opportunities make you feel disappointed and discouraged. God is bigger than your lost opportunities. No matter what has happened in your past, He can still get your life back on track!

It’s sort of like using one of those GPS systems in your car. You set the location to where you want to go, and the GPS calculates the best route. You can be driving along and get distracted and completely miss the street where the GPS instructed you to turn, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never reach your destination. You wouldn’t just pull off to the side of the road crying and say, “Now I’m stuck here. I’ll never get where I need to go all because I missed my turn!” No, there’s always another way to get there. In fact, that GPS system will instantly recalculate the route to your destination based on your present location.

Well, God works in a similar way. He is constantly giving us direction, speaking to our hearts, leading us by granting peace or unrest in our spirits. But even when we miss His instructions—and we all do from time to time—He will recalculate our route and get us back where we need to be.

I love what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13: “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” He was saying, we must turn our thoughts toward the future and keep looking for new opportunities. God is a restorer, and He loves to restore opportunities. It may not always happen the way you think, but keep your heart open to Him. He’ll get you back on track toward the wonderful destiny He has prepared for you!

LORD'S MANNA FOR THE DAY :

Habakkuk 3:19 Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY :

“Vindicate me, LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered.” (Psalm 26:1)

Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. Let the morning rain bring me joy and hope from the hands of God on this new day. I rejoice in the Lord for You have blessed me all the way in my life. My soul rejoices in my God for You have clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of Your righteousness. I humbly come to the throne of grace and seek for Your wisdom and knowledge, please show me the unsearchable things that I do not know and teach me how to pray daily.

Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen !!!

NEED HEALING AND MIRACLES FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS

http://youtu.be/qth2CNaXPbU

Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com

Fair Use Notice: There is some copyrighted material on this site, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to our efforts to advance understanding of serious issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for educational purposes.