WATCH
WHAT JESUS DOES :
Luke
1:37 - “For with God nothing will be impossible.”
You
may have heard from friends or seen in Christian books the popular question,
“What would Jesus do?” It is a question Christians are taught to ask themselves
when faced with a problem.
But
when you ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” in any situation, it is subject
to your own interpretation and theology. For example, if you are from a church
that doesn’t believe that Jesus heals today, you may think that this is how
Jesus would pray for the sick, “O Father, give him patience to endure his
sufferings,” and proceed to pray that way for a sick person. So when you try to
think of what Jesus would do, you are going back to your flesh!
Maybe
the reminder should be, “Watch what Jesus does”. When I preach, I watch what Jesus
is doing or leading me to do. If He prompts me to say or do something, I say or
do it. I know that I am not in the pulpit to manifest Pastor Prince or his
flesh, but to manifest Jesus Christ, with whom nothing is impossible!
One
Sunday service, prompted by God, I shared with the congregation that He wanted to
restore lost items. The following week, a church member wrote, “Last Sunday,
Pastor, you mentioned that the Lord would help us recover lost items. I knew
that the word was for me. My diamond bracelet and ring had been missing for
weeks…Praise God, when I returned home that day, my maid placed the lost items in
my hands. She found them at 10.30
that morning while I was still worshiping in church.”
On
another occasion, I was praying for a wheelchair-bound lady when I felt God
telling me to pull her up from her wheelchair. Boy, was I glad that before I
realized what I was doing, she was standing up on her feet unaided! Now, if I
had taken some time to think—“My goodness, what am I doing?”—my thinking could
have obstructed my obedience to God’s prompting.
So
when you are led to talk to someone, watch what Jesus does. When you pray for your
child, watch what Jesus does. When you confess God’s Word into your situation, watch
what Jesus does! Keep your eyes on Jesus, with whom nothing is impossible!
Thought
For The Day :
Watch
what Jesus is leading you to do and experience the miraculous
TRUST
IN JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR :
And,
behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do,
that I may have eternal life? - Matthew 19:12-20
On
the surface, it appears that this rich young ruler was "right on" in
the way he approached Jesus and sought salvation. He ran, kneeled down to
Jesus, and openly professed Him as a Good Master. What could be wrong with
that?
First,
he acknowledged Jesus as good but not as God. This is a pivotal point.
Every
major religion of the world acknowledges that Jesus lived and will even admit
that He definitely was a good man, but they won't recognize Him as God. If
Jesus was only a good man, He couldn't save anybody. Jesus didn't just come to
show us the way to God. He was the way, the only way unto the Father.
No
man could come unto the Father, but by Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus had made this
point publicly many times before. This is the reason that Jesus responded to
this young man's question the way He did. Jesus was saying, "God is the only
one who is good. You must accept me as God or not at all." Jesus was
either who He claimed to be or He was the biggest fraud that ever lived. He has
to be one or the other. He cannot be both.
Second,
he asked what he could do to produce salvation. He trusted in himself and believed
he could accomplish whatever good work Jesus might request. This is completely opposed
to the plan of salvation that Jesus came to bring.
Jesus
obtained salvation for us through His substitution and He offers it to us as a
free gift. All we must do is believe and receive. This rich young ruler wasn't
looking for a Savior. He was trying to be his own savior. This is the reason
Jesus referred him back to the commandments. He either needed to keep all of the
law perfectly or he needed a Savior. Jesus desired to turn this man from
trusting in himself by showing him God's perfect standard, which no one could
keep, so that then he would trust in a Savior.
BELIEVE
AND DECLARE :
It
is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ Since we have that same
spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak. - 2 Corinthians 4:13, NIV
There
was a man who was believing to pay his house off. It was a standard 30-year mortgage,
and he had 23 years left. In the natural, there was no way he could do it. But he
was bold enough to say, “Father, I want to thank You that You are Jehovah
Jireh; the Lord my provider. I know my job is not my source. You are my source.
It may look impossible, but I know You can do the impossible.”
Several
years ago, he received an inheritance from a family member that he had never met
before. He didn’t even know they were related. He was able to not only pay his house
off, but he paid a friend’s house off as well. What was that? Explosive
blessings!
When
you believe God, you position yourself for a miracle. When you obey His commands,
you set yourself under the open windows of heaven. When you declare His Word,
you open the door for Him to move on your behalf. Keep standing, keep believing,
keep speaking and see the victory and blessing He has in store for you!
WISDOM
IS THE PRINCIPAL THING
If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. - James 1:5
The
solution to money problems is the wisdom of God. Today, as you believe God for increase,
I want to encourage you to ask Him first for wisdom with regard to all the provision
challenges that you are facing right now.
In
the Book of James, we learn that if anyone lacks wisdom, “let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
The
wisdom of God will help you to identify and solve the money problems that you
may be currently experiencing. So don’t prioritize accumulating material
things. God’s Word declares that wisdom is the principal thing (Proverbs 4:7). My
friend, in all your getting today, get wisdom and understanding!
LIFE
WITH GOD IS EASY AND LIGHT :
Matthew
11:28 - Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
It
always warms my heart to know that Jesus sees the cares we carry in our hearts.
He knows the worries you have for your family and for the future. He feels the
heaviness in your heart as you struggle with the sickness in your body. He says
to you, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.”
Jesus
wants to give you rest. And He says that the way you receive rest is to be
yoked with Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew
11:29–30)
What
does it mean to be yoked with Jesus? Imagine a pair of oxen yoked together. The
younger ox sees what the lead ox does and folloes. If the lead ox turns left,
the younger ox turns left. If the lead ox stops, the younger ox stops. When the
lead ox starts moving again, the younger ox follows. Likewise, Jesus wants us to
follow His leading and flow with Him.
It
is not hard to flow with Jesus because He will not lay anything heavy on
you—“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) When you are
yoked with Him and you flow with Him, you will find that there is nothing
heavy-hearted, ill-fitting or burdensome from the Lord. When you flow with the
Lord, you will find that things fall into place. You will not be weighed down,
anxious or distressed.
You
might say, “But Pastor, God has given me this heavy burden. It is weighing
heavily on my heart!”
My
friend, if the burden is heavy, it is not from God because Jesus said that His
burden is light. The devil has probably given you the burden to crush you!
“Oh,
Pastor, you are making light of how serious my burden is.”
No,
I am not. Jesus did say that His burden is light and His yoke easy. So a life
yoked with Him is anxiety- and worry-free.
Beloved,
follow His leading and flow with Him, and you will find rest for your soul!
Thought
For The Day :
The
way you receive rest is to be yoked with Jesus, for His yoke is easy and His
burden is light.
PASTOR,
PREPARE YOUR HEART :
'I
lay prostrate before the Lord... forty days.' Deuteronomy 9:25NIV
A
preacher got into the habit of writing his sermons word for word. It worked
well - until one Sunday he found himself in the pulpit without his notes.
Addressing the congregation, he said, 'I've forgotten my notes this morning, so
I'll have to pray and rely on the Lord. But at tonight's service, I'll come
better prepared.' Cute story, but it's not so cute when it's a reality! Pastor,
your people may be impressed with your speaking abilities short-term, but
they'll only be impacted long-term when your words are inspired by the Holy
Spirit. The ability to change hearts is above your pay grade, so don't fall
into
that
ego trap or you'll fizzle like a wet firecracker! Study the life of Christ. Before
He chose His disciples, or walked on the water, or fed the multitude, He spent
hours in prayer. So in order to choose the right people, feed your flock on
Sunday morning, or 'walk on water' and accomplish great things for God, you
must focus on preparing your heart and not just your message. You say, 'But I'm
a people person.' That's good, but you'll have nothing to say to people that'll
make any real difference unless you get it
from
God. You say, 'But I'm a project person.' Unless you spend time with God,
you'll
get
into things you shouldn't - things you may not be able to get out of. Moses
said, 'I lay prostrate before the Lord...forty days and forty nights because
the Lord had said He would destroy you.' And the end result? God not only saved
the nation, He blessed it. So pastor, prepare your heart.
MARRIAGE
IS A COVENANT :
And
I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for
fornication, and shall marry another,
committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit
adultery. - Matthew 19:7-9
Although
adultery denotes one who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another, in
its much broader term, it means to violate or pollute. Israel violated or
polluted their covenant with God. Jeremiah says, "She (Judah) defiled the
land, and committed adultery" (Jer. 3:9).
Adultery
in relation to marriage also reflects a violation of the covenant of
companionship.
Sex outside of marriage is adultery because it violates or pollutes the covenant
of marriage by introducing another party and bringing that relationship into
the marriage. "They two shall be one flesh" (Eph. 5:31).
Divorce
also adulterates or pollutes marriage because it disrupts or denies the
divorced parties the right to be faithful to their covenant of companionship.
Any time one divorces his mate (except for fornication) and marries another, he
is guilty of adultery. He has polluted and destroyed a relationship intended by
God to be permanent and pure.
Why
the "except for fornication" clause? Jesus is not saying that if
fornication is involved, we must divorce, but rather, when fornication is involved,
that is the only time when the person getting the divorce is not guilty of
adultery. That is because the partner who had an extra-marital relationship has
already polluted the marriage vow. In God's original design for marriage He
intended marriage to be sacred, precious, pure, and
permanent.
The marriage covenant represents a final, irrevocable commitment where the man
and the woman renounce the right to live for themselves and become "heirs together
of the grace of life" (1 Pet. 3:7).
NO
CONSOLATION PRIZE :
But
let patience have her perfect work, that ye maybe perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
– James 1:4
I
talk a lot about faith. But there's another force that goes along with it
that's just as important. It's patience, the ability to stand fast on the Word
of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.
Patience
is not automatic. It won't go to work unless you let it go to work. So many people
don't understand that. They somehow think faith and patience will go to work
for them without their help. They just let the devil tear their lives apart and
then they say silly things like, "Well, I guess God sent that trial to
strengthen my faith." Don't you ever get caught saying that!
In
the first place, James says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am
tempted of God" (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial isn't
going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it'll destroy it if you'll let it.
If
I were to give you a set of weights, would that set of weights make you any
stronger? No. As a matter of fact, if you dropped one of them on your foot, you
could end up painfully weaker. It's what you do with them that counts, right?
Well,
the same thing is true when you run into some kind of trying circumstance the devil's
brought your way. If you just lay down and let it run over you, it will damage
you. But if you'll let patience have her perfect work, if you'll remain
consistently constant, trusting in and relying confidently on the Word of God,
you'll end up perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
"Wanting
nothing." That phrase alone should convince you that patience is no consolation
prize. It's a first-rate power that will put the promises of God within your reach.
It's a force that will make a winner out of you.
LIVE
IN LOVE
Unto
the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of
compassion.
—Psalm 112:4
In
the African country where my friend Roxanne lives, water is a precious
commodity. People often have to travel long distances to collect water from
small, contaminated creeks—leading to sickness and death. It’s difficult for
organizations like orphanages and churches to serve the people because of a
lack of water. But that’s beginning to change.
Through
Roxanne’s leadership and the unselfish gifts of some loving people in established
churches, clean water wells are being dug. At least six new wells are now
operational,
allowing churches to be centers of hope and encouragement. A health center and
a home for 700 orphans will also be able to be opened because of access to water.
That’s
the kind of love that can flow from believers in Christ when we have
experienced the love and generosity of God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that
if we don’t have love, our voices clang on people’s ears and our faith means
nothing. And the apostle John says that if we have material possessions and see
others in need and take action, that’s evidence that God’s love is abiding in
us (1 John 3:16).
God
desires that we deal “graciously” (Ps. 112:5) with those in need, for His heart
is gracious toward us.
Be
not weary in your serving;
Do
your best for those in need;
Kindnesses
will be rewarded
By
the Lord who prompts the deed.
Kindness
is Christianity with its working clothes on.
Beloved,
my prayer today is that you will know just how much your Father loves you and
be bold to ask Him for whatever you need.
NEED
HEALING AND MIRACLES FOLLOW THESE
INSTRUCTIONS
Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
Hezekiah Walker "Every
Praise" http://youtu.be/0dHjgFiISLk
Gordon Williams http://gordwilliams.com/
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