My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, In order for us to have peace, all we need to do is to focus our minds on the Lord, then we begin to trust in Him and His power. This wonderful promise was given to Isaiah when Israel, was going through its darkest period. We see even today, that many people are surrounded by much gloominess, and depression and when we are constantly threatened with the three great enemies of doubt, fear and worry, we need to keep our minds fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ and realize how precious and comforting these words become to us.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, God is telling you to cling on to Him firmly from this day onwards. At times you might have been unsuccessful in achieving your goals. And this may be because you had left Jesus behind. But from now on you hold on to Him. Then you will find a progress in your life. God is not happy with those who backslide from the Lord. The Bible says, “For a righteous man fall seven times and yet he rises again.” The Peace which God offers is very practical. And this can be experienced by us through His grace. And this peace can be attained by trusting our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul through his letters encourages the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. He says, “ Rejoice in the Lord always, and I say again rejoice.” Let your gentleness be evident to all. For the Lord is near, therefore do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanks giving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ procured peace for us, upon the cross of Calvary, and that peace is conveyed to our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit, as stated in the Bible. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. Further the Bible says, Great peace will come to those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, God gives us a guarantee that if we will walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, He will keep our hearts, in perfect peace. If we do our part, then He will do His part. Therefore I encourage you to love the Law(commandments) and meditate in it day and night then observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way, prosperous and then you will have good success. God Bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank You Lord for having procured peace for us on the cross of Calvary. Teach us to keep Your commandments. Help us to cling on to You O Lord, for all our needs. Be with us and guide us in our day to day life. May we enjoy the fruit of the spirit in our life. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Ruth 1:20 “ She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi, Call me Marah. For the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me. ”
From the above context we understand that Naomi had lived a very miserable life. She was married to Elimelech. and they from their home in Judea, to Moab. Suddenly her husband Elimelech died. Thereafter she gave her sons in marriage to the Moabites women. One was Orpah and the other was Ruth. During the course of time her two sons also died leaving their young wives as widows without any children. It was a miserable and painful time for Naomi. She not only lost her husband but also her sons. And this added to her misery. She felt loneliness, deprived of love and disgraced.
So she decided to leave Moab and return back to Bethlehem the house of bread. She was so frustrated in life that she called her daughter in laws and asked them to return to their father’s house. Orpah kissed her mother in law and left to her father’s house. She insisted that her daughter in laws, return to their own homes remarry and live a happy married life. But Ruth said, to her. “For wherever you go, I will go. And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die.” So Naomi could not compel her daughter in law Ruth, to stay behind. Ruth stayed back with her mother in law.
Now therefore Naomi arose with her daughter in law, that she might return from the country of Moab, to her own country Bethlehem, as she had heard, the good news that the Lord had visited her people, by giving them bread. The good news from her own country revived her soul and spirit.
Since Naomi trusted in the Word of God, that was sweeter than honey and returned back to Bethlehem, God changed all the situation of her life. The people in the city did not know that she had lived a bitter life in Moab. All looked at her with pity and sympathy. She was blessed with a new descendant, through Ruth who gave up her pagan heritage and followed her mother in law to worship the God of Israel, and came to Bethlehem. She was married to Boaz, a very rich man and she begot a son through him. Thus Naomi was blessed with a grandson. The people in the city praised Naomi saying “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a relative, and may the child be a restorer of life, and a nourisher of your old age.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, have you lost your loved ones like Naomi, and so you live a bitterful life or have you lost your job, and so you feel depressed, because you do not know how to manage your family. Have you faced a huge loss in your business or steeped in debts that you are unable to repay and therefore you feel so bitter in life. Don’t worry, believe in the promises of God which is sweeter than honey, then you will experience the goodness of God in the land of the living as Noami and Ruth Experienced. Just as God gave another opportunity for them to regain all that they had lost in life, God will help you to recover all that you have lost in life and live a successful life before others and crown you with double portion of blessings. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank You for rewarding us when we believe in the Word Of God. Help us to be faithful when we go through severe troubles like Naomi and be bold like Ruth, while making decisions in our life. We too have lived a miserable life, like them. Therefore Lord, give us another opportunity to live a glorious life even in our old age like Naomi.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Exodus 15:23,25 “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters, of Marah. for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.” So He cried unto the Lord. And the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.”
From the above context we learn that Moses was leading the people of Israel to the Promised land. He led them through the desert hoping they would reach a prosperous land flowing with milk and honey, and that his people would enjoy a bright future. The people were moving with much expectation. But suddenly they became thirsty. They couldn’t find water anywhere and just like the waters of Mara, their hearts became bitter.
Even in your life you would have experienced bitterness. You might be saying, I chose the best college for my son/daughter, thinking it would be good for them. But they seem to face bitter experience in the college, and so you are worried over them. You would have secured a good job for your son, with many recommendations, but your son is not happy working there. And after referring, and scrutinizing many proposals, you got your daughter, married thinking that she will live a happy married life, but she is very unhappy. Or you might be saying I started this ministry with much prayer and effort, but it is not favourable, as I expected.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, God has seen your tears which you have shed all these years of your life, because of your affliction. Your cry has reached out to God in heaven. While the Israelites were in the dessert and were full of thirst, they found only bitter water to drink. So Moses lifted up his heart and cried out to God, to save his people from thirst and to perform a miracle for them. The Lord heard his cry and showed him a tree. He him to cut the branch of the tree and throw it into the water. And as soon as it was thrown into the water it sweetened. The people drank water from it and quenched their thirst.
What was important is not about the branch or twig of the tree, that made the water sweet, but the power of God’s word that performed the miracle and caused the bitter water to taste sweet. Anyone who absorbs the words of God, and abides by it daily in his life will receive heavenly blessings from God. And he whose life was bitter and felt useless until then will become useful, and will be a blessing to others. God Bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord thank you for performing a miracle in the desert for the people of Israel. You turned the bitter water into sweet water and quenched their thirst. Similarly change the bitterness of our life and make it sweet, and help us to be a blessing to others.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet and bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The blessed word that the Lord has given for you today is from the book of Romans 12:12. “ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” God expects us to rejoice with hope that good things will happen after the dry season or after you go through a time of trial. Whether it is rejoicing in hope or enduring tribulation or persevering through prayer- Each of these exercises helps the other.
Paul directs us to be joyful, patient and faithful, in the midst of daily struggles, though it seems like a hard pill, to swallow. However we are expected to serve the Lord continually out of spiritual fervour and passion, for him. Each one of these is the fruit of spirit. These fruits of spirit are characteristics and traits of Jesus Christ. We need to apply and apply these characteristics in our lives in order to enrich our relationship with Christ. As we become more and more like Him we start resembling His character.
We are to be joyful in hope. When our hope is placed in Jesus then it becomes easy to be joyful in all things because we know that we hope to which we were called. Blessed be the God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As children of God we know the hope that we have through Christ. Our future in heaven is secure in Him by evidence of His resurrection. James in his epistle says, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. May God help you to endure sufferings patiently and joyfully especially during this period of time when all are forced to face such crisis. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank You for showing us the way as to how we ought to be during trial period of our life. Give us the needed strength to endure the testing of our life patiently. Enable us to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My dear Brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given you for today is from the book of Psalms 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray.”
The above verse explains the way God has dealt, with us. He has dealt with us better than we deserve, and all in love. Many have knowledge, but have little understanding about the snares of Satan. And therefore fail to protect themselves from its attack. Therefore some tend to deviate themselves from God when life is all comfortable in the world.
When this happens, instead of this deviation from God we must accept and say “Lord thou art our bountiful benefactor, incline our hearts to faith and obedience.” The proud are full of the world -its wealth and pleasures; these make them senseless, secure and stupid. That is why the Psalmist says, It is good for me to have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, Thus we see that when we fall into severe problems that can only be fixed by God then we begin to look up to Him, then we cry to Him, then we search for Him. What the enemy meant for good, God will turn it around and use it to draw you close to Him. He cares for you. He loves you, So he died for you that you might live with Him forever. Therefore submit yourselves unto God. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank you for helping us to understand why we go through troubles and trials. Make us to understand that when we face trials we must draw more close to you. Thank you for shaping and making us as instruments according to your plan. Teach us to overcome trials through Your Strength. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
