FAITH WORDS: THROUGH NOT UNDER

GOD’S LOVE DEMONSTRATED ...

Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

When we go through a trial, we tend to ask ourselves, “Does God really love me? How come I don’t seem to see it?” When that happens, it is time to bring in the cross, for God’s love for you is displayed forever at the cross.

God gave up His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus was pierced in seven places for you—in His head by the crown of thorns, His two hands and feet by the nails, and His side and heart by the spear of a Roman soldier.

Jesus wore the crown of thorns on His head so that you can have a sound mind free from fears, guilt, depression, anxieties and stress.

When Jesus first showed His nail-pierced hands to His disciples, He said to them, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19–20) He wanted them to know that peace is found in His finished work, typified by His pierced hands. The more you see His finished work which has bought complete forgiveness of all your sins, the more your conscience will be at peace and rest.

Jesus’ feet brought Him to places where there was lack, diseases, rejection, condemnation and even death. And those feet were nail-pierced so that you do not need to be in such places yourself. He has rescued you from having to accept and suffer these things in life.

Blood and water flowed out of Jesus’ side when it was pierced. (John 19:34) Medical science will tell you that that means His heart had ruptured. Jesus died literally of a broken heart so that your heart can be filled with joy.

And just as Eve came forth from Adam’s side when he was sleeping, the bride of Christ, the church, came forth from Jesus’ pierced side and death. If He died to have you as His spotless bride, He lives today to care for you.

Beloved, the only man-made things in heaven today are those scars on His body. They will remain forever as tokens of His everlasting love and passion for you. So if God did not spare His Son, but delivered Him up for you, how will He not with Him also freely give you all things!

Thought For The Day :

God’s love for you is displayed forever at the cross.

Let this mindset reside in you…to trust Jesus for everything in life. He will supply your every need past, present, and future! (Matthew 4:19)

WHOSE WILL ??

O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. —Matthew 26:39

“May all things happen according to your will,” is a greeting frequently exchanged during Chinese New Year. As wonderful as that may sound, events turn out best when God’s will plays out and not mine.

Given a choice, Joseph would not have wished to be a slave in Egypt (Gen. 39:1). But despite his captivity, he was “successful” because “the Lord was with [him]” (v.2). The Lord even blessed his master’s home “for Joseph’s sake” (v.5).

Joseph would never have chosen to go to prison in Egypt. But he did when falsely accused of sexual assault. However, for the second time we read: “the Lord was with Joseph” (v.21). There, he gained the trust of the warden (v.22) so that “whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper” (v.23). His downward spiral into prison turned out to be the start of his rise to the top position in Egypt. Few people would choose to be promoted the way God promoted Joseph. But Joseph’s God blesses, despite, and even through, adverse circumstances.

God had a purpose for bringing Joseph to Egypt, and He has a purpose for placing us where we are. Instead of wishing that all things happened according to our will, we could say, as our Savior did before going to the cross, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39).

Lord, it is far too easy to chase my own desires and passions. Forgive me for my selfish wants and pursuit of self-centered activities. Help me to place You first and to look for what You are doing and want to do in my life.

Patient waiting is often the highest way of doing God’s will.

JESUS is the GREAT EQUALIZER. When you have JESUS you are equal with everyone else regardless of where you are from, the color of your skin or how much money you have. We are all NOTHING without Him, BUT WE ARE EVERYTHING IN HIM.

GOD’S DEEP SECRETS ...

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. - 1 Corinthians 2:9–10, NLT

Who do you share your deepest secrets with? Most people only share their inner thoughts with those who are closest to them. People they trust. People they’ve gone through experiences with. Do you know who God shares His secrets with? This passage goes on to say, “Who can know a man’s thoughts except his own spirit?” As believers, God’s Spirit lives inside of us, revealing to us the heart and thoughts of God Himself.

God wants you to know what He thinks about you. He wants you to know about the plans He has for you. He wants to show you things you’ve never seen, heard about, or even imagined. You are His child, but you are also His friend. You are His closest companion. He wants to walk with you, talk with you, and share with you. What a wonderful, amazing thought — we can know God’s thoughts because we are one with Him. Open your heart and allow Him to share His deep secrets with you today.

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.

BEAT THE ODDS WITH THE FAVOR OF GOD

Ruth 2:2 - So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Do you look at yourself and see only lack in the natural? Do you say, “I don’t have a good education”, “I am poor”, “I am too old” or “I am a divorcee”? I have good news for you. As a blood-bought believer and child of God, you have the supernatural favor of God!

In the Bible, Ruth was a poor Moabite widow who went with her mother-in-law to live in Bethlehem, a Jewish town where the inhabitants considered Moabites outcasts. But she did not wallow in self-pity and moan about being a poor widow of the wrong race in the wrong place. Instead, she believed that God would favor her and she declared, “I will find favor in the field that I glean from.”

In the natural, Ruth had everything going against her. But because she trusted in the favor of God, she not only became the wife of Bethlehem’s richest man when Boaz married her, she also became the great-grandmother of David and had her name included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ even though she was not a Jewess! That is what God’s supernatural favor did for her. That is the kind of blessing God’s supernatural favor can give you.

A church member shared how, due to unforeseen circumstances, she was late for a job interview. But she confessed God’s favor on herself before the interview and miraculously, the interviewers shortlisted her for a second interview.

There were about 40 other applicants with the right experience. And though she lacked the relevant experience, by the favor of God, she got the job which came with better pay and a car allowance that fully subsidized her car loan. Her new company was even willing to pay for her petrol and cell phone expenses—all because she believed and confessed that she had the favor of God!

Do not look at what you do not have in the natural and see lack. Trust in the favor of God and you will see blessings which your natural abilities cannot bring!

FORGIVE AS GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32

Once, I met a sprightly Christian lady in her seventies who looked a lot younger than she was. Curious, I decided to find out the secret of her youthfulness. As we talked, I learned that she was someone who was easygoing—this happy-go-blessed lady doesn’t take things to heart when offended and is quick to forgive or let go.

She reminds me of an encouragement that God gives us in His Word: Be tenderhearted and forgiving. My friend, God has your best interests at heart when He tells you to forgive and let go. He wants you to be happy and to live a long, healthy life. Nursing a hurt or anger against someone and having unforgiveness in your heart aren’t worth losing your joy, peace and health over.

Beloved, if you find it difficult to forgive someone, then look to the cross and see how perfectly God has let go every sin you have and will ever commit. Bring Jesus into your bitter situation. When you know how perfectly He loves you and has forgiven you, you’ll be able to forgive that person too. And the more you let go of offences against you, the less the enemy is able to make inroads into your mind, heart and body. Like the lady I mentioned, you’ll live a happier, healthier and longer life, with a lot fewer wrinkles and frown lines!

SHARE YOUR LOVE

Your love for one other will prove to the world that you are my disciples. - John 13:35, NLT

If you know someone who is struggling, just put an arm around them and let them know that you care and that you have been thinking about them. To truly show them the love of God, stand next to them, pray with them and make a difference. That is the kind of life-altering love that Jesus showed as an example in the Bible.

Love is a perfectly good word, so don’t be afraid to use it. Jesus said that more than anything else, love will be the way that the world knows the disciples of Christ. Go visit an old friend, tell your family that you love them; or do something else for someone to express the love that you have for them.

MIRROR, MIRROR

He who . . . is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. —James 1:25

How often do you see your reflection in a mirror? Some studies say that the average person looks in a mirror 8 to 10 times a day. Other surveys say it could be as many as 60 to 70 times a day, if glancing at our reflection in store windows and smart phone screens is included.

Why do we look so often? Most experts agree that it’s to check our appearance, especially before meetings or social gatherings. If something is amiss, we want to fix it. Why look if we don’t plan to change what’s wrong?

The apostle James said that reading or hearing God’s Word without acting on it is like looking in a mirror and forgetting what we’ve seen (1:22-24). But the better alternative is to look closely and act on what we see. James said, “He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (v.25).

If we hear God’s Word without taking action, we fool only ourselves (v.22). But when we examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and obey His instructions, God liberates us from all that keeps us from looking more and more like Him each day.

Thank You, Lord, for the Bible, Your Word to us. Give us wisdom and guidance as we read its pages. Make us sensitive to Your voice and give us hearts to obey.

The Bible is a mirror that lets us see ourselves as God sees us.