3 years ago · Admin
Bible Insights
You Must Know The Unique & Astounding Nature of the Bible!
Do you know the only God-breathed Book with all you need to know about yourself, the planet Earth you live in, the universe that surrounds you, and the past, present, and future- it has 66 books and was completed by 40 authors who lived over 1600 years.?
Many of them did not know each other and didn’t live in the same generation.
There is no other book that fits into the above miraculous description. One man authored the Book of Mormon -Joseph Smith. It was published in Palmyra, NY, in 1830. The Koran was written by one person, Mohammed. Gautama Buddha, born and lived in Nepal, wrote the writings of Buddha. Maharishi Veda Vyasa wrote the Hindu religious Book called Bhagavad Gita.
However, it’s mind-blowing to know that the Bible was written over 1600 yrs by 40 different authors who did not know each other and lived centuries apart. The authors were from different continents of the Earth and different ages and lifestyles. They included kings, fishermen, tax collectors, shepherds, Physicians, and poets. They wrote from the wilderness, homes, prisons, ships, and other places.
Can you imagine the diversity of the people God used to write His Book? Truly startling and exciting!
Yet it is one unified Book and has one theme. It is a one-time miracle of history. It never happened and will never happen again future.
The Bible says two things about how it all happened.
- All Scripture (referring to the Bible) is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16a). God-breathed is also translated as ‘inspired by God.’ So, the Bible is breathed out of God/inspired by God.
- The prophecy (referring to the Bible) was never made by an act of human will, but ‘men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.’
Therefore, although God used 40 human authors to write His message over 1600 years who lived in different parts of the world from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles, they were moved and compelled by the Holy Spirit of God to write. Listen! The Bible did not originate from the earth. It originated from heaven, from God Almighty. It is the divine work of God! CSB says these men spoke from God as the Holy Spirit carried them along. The writers were moved and carried along by the Holy Spirit to write down the God-breathed Revelation that you and I have in our hands called the Bible.
One Unified Theme!
Yet, with all its wonder, the Bible has one united theme. The unified theme of the Bible is God’s plan of salvation for people and the promised messiah, the savior Jesus Christ, who would accomplish it.
Listen! Jesus attested to the truth of the one unified theme of the Bible when he was talking to the two people traveling to the village called Emmaus, which was seven miles away from Jerusalem. You can read the whole conversation in Luke 24:13-31.
He said this in verses 25-27, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.”
Beginning from Moses (from the Book of Genesis to the last Book called Revelation in the Bible) with all the prophets, it was about Jesus.
The startling and divine nature of the Bible is all about the savior that you and I need, who would make us stand perfect in the presence of the Holy God!
God promised the Savior and fulfilled His promise in the person and work of Jesus Christ. That is the unified theme of the Amazing Book called The Bible.
Would you begin reading and get familiar with this Book? If you don’t understand all it says, would you seek help from Bible teaching and preaching servant of the Lord?
You will spend your time well before you face eternity! I recommend you grab hold of a Bible, begin reading, and then experience the marvel of the God-breathed and inspired Book God gave to humanity.
KNOW THE TRUTH!
“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation”. Psalm 25:5.
You must have at least four truth awareness in your heart. And these are- to know the truth about God, to know the truth about you, to know people around you, and to know the future. This pretty much covers all.
About God. God is the creator of all the things you see around you. Not only is he the creator, but he is also the owner of all. You see, because God is the creator, then succeeds the truth that He is the true owner of all. You may look at your children or spouse and may think they belong to you. However, the truth is they belong to God first. He is the owner of all the land and properties. He temporarily gives you the title of the land and other things for your enjoyment and stewardship. However, no one knows how long you would own. Only God knows. Another person comes along in the future and owns it. This is true of children, spouse, properties, and all. Also, remember He is the possessor of all. He possesses it, although he would give you to handle it for some time. God expects you to be a faithful steward of all that he provides to you. A steward is a person who manages or takes care of the things of others. You manage and take care of things that belong to God. Bible says in 1st Corinthians 4:2 a steward must be faithful to their master. NASB translates, “it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” You must be a faithful steward for all God handed over to you.
Now God is triune. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father initiated the plan of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. God the Son implemented it on the cross by shedding His blood for your sake. God the Holy Spirit gives you the awareness of sin and judgment, leads you to the feet of Christ, and keeps you safe by giving you needed help, counsel, advice, and teaching until you reach heaven at the time of your death.
About You: You have a basic issue that hinders a relationship and fellowship with Holy God. And that is Sin. Sin is the reason for the death of humanity. There is no cure man could find for the sin or death issues. All the people are in the same predicament. Originally in the Garden of Eden, God and our first parents had a close and loving fellowship until sin entered and they disobeyed God. Like an apple begets an apple, sin nature is carried over to all of Adam’s posterity. There is no distinction – All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. This is the first understanding you must have about yourself. As a sinner, you need a savior who is strong and perfect in all ways. A man can not save another person regarding the sin nature because all men are in the same condition of living under the influence of sin. Therefore, the savior must be outside of us and sinless and perfect for saving people from their sins. The Bible says, Because of His love, God sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. God took the first step toward a solution. God put all your debts of sin on the body of Christ, and then Jesus voluntarily died in your place, was buried, and rose again victoriously, defeating sin and the resultant death. When a person accepts God’s Son, Jesus, as his or her savior, you are saved forever—saved permanently. You are granted and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit, guarantying eternal life with God and Christ in heaven at the time of your death. You are justified by the work of Christ and your acceptance of Him as your savior.
About other people:
Other people are in the same predicament as you. They also need the savior whom God sent for salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. Because all people are sinners, understand you will get hurt by other people’s words and actions. An understanding of this truth would help you not to get stressed when your expectations are hurt by other people. Pain-free life and no breaking experiences are not possible on this side of heaven because you deal and mingle with people who are sinners. Sin could be self-caused or others-caused. The sinful nature of you and other people never goes away on this side of eternity, although the Holy Spirit inside you, whom you receive at the time of the acceptance of Jesus Christ, continuously helps you to grow in him and bear spiritual fruit rather than the fruit of the flesh. This is called sanctification or spiritual growth.
About the future: God has in store a perfect landing for those who come to Christ Jesus in faith and trust. We may face holocaust experiences now, but the future looks bright and excellent for a person who obeys God by coming to His Son, Jesus Christ. Your death is not the end of life. At the time of death, you go to live with God in heaven because you called upon the name of the savior of the whole world – Jesus Christ. You will receive glorified brand-new heavenly bodies. Your body would look like the body of Christ after the resurrection. Here now, God is on your side when you face difficulties, trials, and issues. He answers your prayer. He guides, helps and leads you to the end because you belong to Him.
A person who accepts Christ as the savior is justified, sanctified, and glorified. All these are used in the past tense, which means a believer in Christ already receives all these. The future is blessed, much hopeful, and bright.
There are more things to know in all the above four categories. God communicated more about Him, you, the people around you, and the future in the pages of the Bible. The more you get familiar with the pages of the Bible, the more equipped and blessed your life becomes.
The Inspirer and Encourager!
“Be confident because God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet, said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
One of the most favorite tools of the devil, especially in these last days, is discouragement. He uses this trick to attack the believers to stop their progress in spiritual growth and curtail their effectiveness. As the days come near for the second coming of the Lord Jesus, the devil would use this tactic more.
Almost all faith warriors in the Bible encountered severe discouragement periods. David was discouraged by the slandering tongues of his enemies and wicked threats. He penned his lowest condition in Psalm 55, “Oh that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.”
It does not matter how wealthy, strong and famous you are. The devil uses the same tactic to stop your progress. Listen! Because we live in a sin-bound world due to the consequence of our original parents’ (Adam and Eve) sins, life throws trash at you. You get wounded and bruised. No one is exempt. Life can bend you down. Life discourages you. It throws sharp arrows at you to destroy your faith, confidence, and effectiveness. What are you going to do on such occasions? Bible affirms this truth in Romans 11:29, “God’s calling and gifts are irrevocable.” This understanding is cardinal. Listen! People may stand against your progress; they may say all kinds of evil against you; they may leave you; your own trusted friend may leave you; they may mock and ridicule you. However, God says that His calling and the gifts He gave to you are irrevocable. It means His calling and spiritual gifts are not revocable. It is unalterable, irremediable, and cannot be changed. Keep it close to your heart.
Bible promises this in Philippians 1:6, “Be confident because God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Who began the work in you? God. Who is going to carry it on? God. Who would complete the work started? God. Therefore, do not raise the white flag and quit when going gets tough. Going gets tough and troubling because you are at the center of God’s will, and the devil knows it and hates it. Just hang on, tough. He will complete the work that began in you successfully.
The Bible says God is the best encourager of the discouraged. 2nd Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement. He encourages us in every trouble, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any trouble, through the very encouragement with which we are encouraged by God.” (TLV). If nothing you learned from this verse, remember two things: God is the God of all compassion and encouragement.
Your source of encouragement is God and His resources. God was with patriarch Jacob in all of his troubles. He was with David in all of his trials. He was right with Daniel in the middle of the flaming fire and the lion’s cage. Jesus personally followed Peter, covered his failure with His unconditional love, and reinstated Him with a commission – “Feed my lambs.”You see, beloved, God is working in you. How does he work inside you? By giving you the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him. The one who desires to do his work also provides the ability to do it. God is the best inspiration you would ever experience.
Someone correctly said discouragement is not an incurable problem. It is a curable disease. Nehemiah was discouraged and worn out in the work of God. However, the good Lord who placed the desire inside him to rebuild the walls gave him the strength and ability to complete it. Ralph was correct in writing, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” That someone is truly God in Jesus Christ, who grants not only the desire to do but also inspires, gives ability and encouragement to do it. He faithfully carries what He began in you and completes it victoriously by His power and might.
Rest assured- God will make it happen as you seek His face and lean on him. When the Bible says, do not lean on your own understanding in proverbs 3:5 (b), we must stop and ponder over it. God has the overall final picture in His mind. He knows the end from the beginning and does not waver with your limited understanding. Our God is a big God with a gigantic plan and purpose for you, and He has millions and millions of ways to help you finish what began in you.
To get God’s inspiration and encouragement, first connect with Him by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth, carried your sins and shortcomings on His body, went to the cross, died, and rose again victoriously for you.
I can get you connected now. Pray after me.
God, I want your inspiration and encouragement in my discouragement and failures. I believe Jesus died in my place for my sins and rose again to save me and give me hope and eternal life. I accept Jesus as my savior and Lord. Please forgive my sins and save me today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”
Clay is not in control; Potter is!
“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
The immediately preceding context of today’s Bible verse is people who are unclean but still try to do righteous acts. But their righteous acts are like filthy rags in the sight of the Holy God. Like winds, their sins sweep them away. In the midst of their sinful life, they least care about God or call on His name. Now God has hidden His face from such people and gave them over to their sinful lifestyles. Finally, God let them go their way just because of their unrepentant heart.
Now the immediate succeeding context is the judgment and punishment of God over the sins committed. God punished them for their sins, their proud city of Jerusalem is in desolation and became a wasteland, and the glorious temple where the ancestors once praised God now burned with fire. In the midst of such a background, our verse for today appears. In such a bleak picture, the prophet Jeremiah admits and shouts the truth. The truth is this. “Yet, you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
The analogy of potter and clay show and demonstrate people’s unarguable relationship with the creator and redeeming God. God is the creator and redeemer of people. God is the potter, and we are the clay. We all are the work of His hand. People forget the fact that He can do whatever He pleases with the clay in His hand. God is in sovereign control over your life and destiny and the entire affairs of the world. Often we forget this truth when we indulge in sins and displeases the LORD.
My friend, you may be living in the midst of sinful people and may have seen the horrible consequences of their sins again and again. Understanding our circumstances helps us to know the truth of this analogy. Or we may have been blown and swept away by some bad choices we made or sins committed. Hear the truth. “Yet, God is our father, and He is the potter, and we are the clay in His hands.” Jeremiah understood this truth. What does it mean? God being the potter and we being the clay, the analogy informs us of the unhindered freedom of God to command our destiny. He is the one who calls all the shots, not us. Clay does not call the shots, potter does! Potter is in control, not clay.
The good news is you can come out and be different. It is not late today. You do not need to be like people around you, nor you need to stay in your sinful life. Like a potter who has a definite design in his mind before he works on his clay, God has a plan and design for your life. God will make a new creation out of you, my friend, at the foot of the cross of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross, you will see Christ’s body bruised for your iniquities, shed his innocent blood for your transgressions, died and paid in full for all of your sins, and then rose again victoriously to declare we are forgiven and clean forever. There when you gaze at the cross where the innocent, sinless savior redeems you and you repent and turn away from your sins, God the potter grabs hold of you, on the clay, with His loving and wonder-working hand and starts to mold you into a brand new creation- a brand new design- something very beautiful and glorious out of you.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? Pray after me.
“Father in heaven, I know you are the wonder-working potter, and I am the clay. I believe you have a wonderful plan and design for me. I gaze at the cross of Christ, where Christ Jesus gave His life for my sins, then buried and rose again for my victory. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I am here Lord. Take me and mold me according to your wonderful design and make me a new creation that I may bring forth praises and glory to you all thru my life. Please forgive and redeem my past. Thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray now. Amen.”
Get connected to the source of power this New Year!
“He (God) gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.” (Isaiah 40:29).
People make New Year’s resolutions. They decide I want to be better this year. I want to love my spouse and children more. I want to help people more. I want to obey and honor my parents. I want to do my job to the best of my abilities. I want to take care of my health. I want to concentrate on my studies and get an A+ grade. The list goes on like this.
Of course, we have good desires, wishes, and even the best plans. However, we discover later that no matter how hard we do our best, sometimes we fail. We face moral and ethical failures. We face relationship and economic losses. In short, we fail in our pursuit to be the best. Many people have already quit making resolutions because they discovered they failed consistently in achieving the goals they set in the past.
You see, I am not against having resolutions and good plans. Because you need the plan to be recovered and know what to do. However, the best of our plans come short, and we sometimes end up in regret and disappointment. This is a fact of life.
Now, one of the reasons for our failure is simply because our goals are not achievable. Could you make reasonable and achievable resolutions? Do not place unrealistic expectations. Secondly, we fail because we try to achieve our goals in our strength. We are disconnected from the source of all power that enables us to fulfill our goals.
Our insight says, “He (God) gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.”
When you come short and do not meet the bar you placed for yourself this New Year, do not forget to turn to God and seek His help. Do not forget to agree with him about your moral failures. Do not fail to humble yourself in front of the almighty God and confess to Him your shortcomings. You see, this is the solution to all of our failures. Run to God, and do not run away from Him. Draw near to Him. Get connected or re-connected with the strength the Lord gives.
Apostle Paul, who understood this truth, wrote in Philippians 4:11-13, “I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” GNT.
You see, you need the strength and power to achieve your plans. You need strength to do all that God asks you to do, don’t you? You need the power and energy to take care of your family, children, work, ministry, and a hundred other things.
Where do you get the required power? Jesus Christ gives you the power you need as you come to Him. Say it with me, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”
None of us can expect our life to be smooth with no roadblocks and issues this coming year. However, when it does hit roadblocks, you need the ever-present help of God available in Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus gives me power when I am weak. He gives me strength when I am powerless. The power of God is available in Jesus Christ. Commit your plans to the Lord in prayer, and lean on His strength every day by acknowledging, “I can do all things, and I can face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”
Would you happen to have this assurance?
If not, you need to get connected or reconnected to Jesus Christ, the source of your power. He supplies what you lack to achieve Godly goals in your life. May I give you an opportunity to come to the living God in Jesus Christ? Jesus is the savior of the whole world because he carried your sins and shortcoming on his divine and sinless body and went to the cross and paid the penalty for you. The blood of Jesus is the ransom paid for your salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. Jesus died and rose again for you. He has the all-sufficient and never-ending power to help you with your needs.
Bible says Jesus stands and knocks at the door of your heart. Invite him to come into your life and begin the New Year with his divine strength, help, and indescribable joy.
Pray after me. “Father in heaven, I believe Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again. I want to get connected to you and your blessings by accepting Jesus as my savior and Lord. Please forgive my sins. Allow me to have a brand new life on the first day of this year. Thank you for coming into my life. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.”
The Salvation that God prepared in the sight of all nations!
“For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations” Luke 2:30-31.
Most people were not prepared or ready to receive the gift God gave on that first Christmas day on this earth when the indescribable gift came silently and quietly from the divine hands of God. The gift-the salvation that God prepared in the sight of all nations came unexpectedly when the rich, poor, healthy, disabled, and rulers were not looking for him. However, few faithful and Godly were eager to see the gift of Messiah, the savior, promised in the Scripture. Outside the land of Israel, among the Gentiles were also a few eager to see God’s promise fulfilled- the wise men who visited Bethlehem to worship the infant Jesus were one example. But many didn’t care and waited for the arrival of the Messiah.
God promised the gift from the dawn of human history – first to Eve, the mother of all, in Genesis 3:15 when He announced to her, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
The Seed line promise continued in the pages of the Scripture. He called Abram and asked him to leave his country, relatives, and his father’s house and go to a land that He would show him eventually. He gave sevenfold promises to Him (Genesis 12:2-3), which are all already fulfilled in human history. The epic promise was stated in verse 3 (c), saying he would bless the whole earth (all the families of the world) in and through His seed. He reiterated the same promise to the patriarchs- Issac and Jacob, in the Bible. God built the nation Israel out of the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 tribes of Israel.
Later, God said to King David and promised the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. He promised David, “when your days are complete, and you lied down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom…and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” The everlasting kingdom of God comes through the promised seed and is the heartbeat of all true Israelits.
God later spoke through Isaiah about how the promise will get fulfilled. Isaiah 9:6-7 says, “For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Then we understood the promise would be fulfilled when a child is born; a son will be given to us. The eternal son of God born here on earth or given to us. The prophecy here is that the one who was already in existence from the very beginning will come to the world through the womb of Mary, the human mother of Jesus. The reason is -Isaish also prophecies in 7:14,” Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Later, The prophet Micah told us where Christ, the promised Messiah, would be born. Read what he prophecies, But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” The place where the seed of the woman God promised in Genesis 3:15 will be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah.
When Jesus was born on the first Christmas day in Bethlehem, hundreds of prophecies in the Bible were fulfilled with pinpoint accuracy. Now Luke wrote that Simeon, eager to see the Old Testament Prophesies about Messiah fulfilled, was told he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Christ. You see, few faithful and devout people were silently waiting for the promised messiah to come to fulfill the prophecies from the dawn of human history. The same is the story today. Many are not looking for Jesus. However, there are few faithful, silently, devotedly waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ to establish the promised Kingdom. The church bought by the blood of Jesus is now quietly waiting for the rapture, which is the snatching away of the true Christians to the air to be with the Lord forever.
More than three hundred prophecies were fulfilled regarding the first coming of Christ. There are three times more prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ. If the first coming is fulfilled with pinpoint accuracy, His second coming will be fulfilled three times accurately.
The question is, are you ready for God’s promises in the pages of the Bible? There is no religion or religious books out there with prophecies fulfilled. The Bible is the only book where you see hundreds of prophecies accurately fulfilled with verifications. Do not believe by words. You independently search and discover by yourselves.
When the human parents of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, brought him for the ceremony of purification, Simeon took baby Jesus of only 40 days in his hand. He said, “Now, Lord, Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.
Remember, on this Christmas day, 2022, this truth. Jesus, the seed of the woman, whom God promised to bruise the head of the devil, is the light of revelation to the Gentiles. It means Jesus is the savior of the whole world, and no other savior who can save people from their sins and shortcomings and reconcile them to a Holy God. He is the promised one to the gentiles – to the whole world. None out there apart from the promised one. The Bible says in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Moreover, Listen! Jesus is the fulfillment of all the hope and dreams of Isreal. Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenant (all are given to the nation Israel) and only find final fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true glory and hope of all Israel. However, there is a mystery stated in the Bible in Romans 11:25, which says, “For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” The mystery is this – a partial unbelief/hardening happened to Israel when Messiah came into His own people. They rejected him so that He would be the savior of the whole world, not just of the nation of Israel. John 1:11-13 attested to this when he wrote, ” He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
You see, Jesus is for all people everywhere. He is not for just Jewish people. He is not given to a small group of denominations only. You can’t claim only we have Jesus. He belongs to the whole world. He is the savior God gave for all people to get saved and reconciled to God. In Him is the forgiveness of all people’s sins, and eternal life is available to all when they call upon Jesus Christ and plead to Him for forgiveness and salvation.
Are you ready and prepared for Christ in your heart? Your forgiveness, future, and eternity hang on to that single and cardinal decision.
What would you do with Jesus, who was given to us by God, the Father?
Are you silently, devotedly prepared/preparing to welcome His second coming that was prophecied three times more in the Scripture? I know in my heart several people worldwide are silently, faithfully eager to see His second coming. I hope we will avoid making the mistake they made in the first century of missing the opportunities to welcome Jesus.
Let us kindle our lights, be alert, and prepare this time for the Messiah’s second coming.
Pray with me. “Father in heaven, I believe Jesus is my savior whom you promised from the beginning. I know he came to this world to pay for my sins and to reconcile me perfectly with you. I accept Jesus as my savior today. Please save me and grant me the salvation you offered for me. Please give me eternal life that is only available in Him. May I be alert and prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”
God Can Dash Your Plans to Build His Beautiful Plans!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.
How are God’s thoughts and ways higher than ours? Just because He is God and we are not. God is infinitely intelligent and wise. People’s intelligence varies, and it is, of course, finite and limited. Indeed not unlimited like God’s. God knows the end from the beginning in a perfect way. You see, we do not see the end from the beginning. However, God sees. The restriction of time does not limit God. We are restricted by time. God is all-powerful. We are not. Even the devil and demons are not all-powerful. Only God is all-powerful. Because God is all-powerful, He has the power to help us with all our needs. God is all present. God can be everywhere at the same time. We are not. Because God is all present, He can protect and guard you safely wherever you are. God is all knowledgeable. Because God is all-knowing, He understands your worries, anxieties, and fears and can help you when no one else understands. Indeed, His thoughts and ways are higher than ours because He is different from us in all these ways.
Sometimes we make plans for our lives, don’t we? Then God comes in and dashes our well-designed plans. We get upset and angry. We may even stop talking to God. However, He dashes your plan because He has a much better one for your life. After several years, we would discover it was good that God broke our well-intended plans because He had a far better course for our lives. We find out His plans were better. I had this experience in my life a few times. Didn’t you experience this as well in your life?
Our today’s insight says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Remember always this truth that God said about Him in the Bible. These are the very words of the living God in heaven. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. Why? Because “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
I am glad His thoughts and ways are higher than mine. How about you? Psalm 139:17 says, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!”
Beloved, do you know God’s thoughts about you are precious? Moreover, do you know God has thoughts about you that can not be numbered or counted? Vast is His thoughts, and numerous are His ways for you.
Dearly beloved, God thought about you before you were born and even before He created the heavens and the earth. He planned to save you and give you eternal life in heaven with Him. According to His eternal plan, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. Jesus died for your sins, buried and rose again for all your sins, failures, and shortcomings. Bible says in John 3:16, ” “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
God still thinks about you today and invites you to come to His Son, Jesus Christ, and accept Him as your savior and Lord.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? Pray with me now. “Father in heaven, I know your thoughts about me are precious and can not be counted or even numbered. I believe You sent Your Son to die for my sins and failures in my place. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. Please save me and give me eternal life. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”
Behind the screen of miseries, God prepares an Exodus.
“They made their lives bitter with hard work building with stones and with all kinds of work in the field. They made them work very hard.” Exodus 1:14.
The Book of Exodus is the second book in the Bible. The word ‘exodus’ means ‘exit’ or ‘a departure.’ Before the Exodus or Exit, Israel’s children had to endure untold miseries and heart pains. After Joseph’s death, who was a Hebrew and the famous then prime minister in Egypt, came new kings (Pharaohs) who did not know anything about him or the good things he had done for Egypt’s land.
The Egyptians made the children of Israel slaves and gave them hard work. They put men in power over them to make them work hard. They had to build the store-cities for Pharaoh, the king. They treated the children of Israel harshly and made their lives bitter with hard work, building with stones, and all kinds of work in the field. The life of the children of Israel was filled with untold miseries and groaning in the land of Egypt.
However, there is a beautiful verse in the middle of it all that you would not miss. And that is verse 12. It says, “but the more the Egyptians made them suffer, the more they became until they spread throughout the land.” Verse 7-8 tells the children of Israel became many in number. There were so many that the land was filled with them.
On top of the miseries of the slavery works, the king of Egypt also ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrews boys at the time of birth and let only daughters live. However, the midwives feared God and did not do what the king asked them to do. Because these midwives feared God and spared their lives, God “gave them families.” In short, God blessed them with families- a special blessing. Then the king ordered to throw every son of the Hebrews into the Nile but keep daughters alive.
God was at work behind the scenes in all these painful, heartbreaking sufferings. You see, when they came to Egypt, the number of the children of Israel was only seventy (Genesis 46:26-27). However, seventy are not enough for a nation being built by God according to the promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Genesis 12:2; 17:2;26:3-4;28:13-14;35:11-12). God worked behind the scene to multiply Abraham’s descendants, Isaac and Jacob, to form a nation to fulfill his promise to them.
You see, divine work to fulfill God’s covenant and human suffering went hand in hand for some time –for about 430 years of slavery in Egypt. By multiplying and increasing the number of the children of Israel amid miseries to fulfill God’s eternal promises. You see, a nation was at birth in their sorrows in Egypt. They did not know about it. They only knew miseries and sufferings day after day for an extended period.
Where was God at this time of their hardships? You see, He was at work in fulfilling his covenant promise. Not only was God multiplying their number as he promised to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, but also he was preparing a leader in these sufferings. The leader God was preparing was none other than Moses.
Beloved, God prepares beautiful, amazing, and divine exits amid your miseries. The Bible affirms in Hebrews 10:23, “Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Do you know the living God who does open divine exits even from your pains, sufferings, and ashes? His name is the LORD God, the living God in heaven. He loves you and sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to make you His own by forgiving all your sins and shortcomings. Jesus came to this world, died, and rose again victoriously to save you and grant you eternal life in heaven when you close your eyes here on this planet. He is the sovereign Lord who can help you overcome your difficulties and miseries. Would you call upon him now with me?
“Father in heaven, I understand you have a divine purpose in my sufferings and miseries. I believe you are the living God who opens the ways of exits and deliverances in lives. I also know you love me and sent your Son, the only savior of the world, to this earth. Jesus died and rose again for my sins and shortcomings. I accept Jesus as my savior and Lord. Please save me now and deliver me with your mighty arm. I call upon the name of the wonderful name Jesus for help now. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.”
The grace of God- the Concrete Ground Beneath You!
“I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.” 1 Peter 5:12
When Peter closes his first Epistle, he reflects on the concrete ground of grace beneath him, even at the point of his painful denial of Lord Jesus Christ, who he loved the most. He is reminding the same powerful grace available to us in our lives on this planet.
Grace is the mercy and loving-kindness of God given to undeserving people like you and me. Sometimes I think the entire Bible – Old Testament and New Testament- can be summarized in one word and that is the beautiful and divine gift called grace. We cannot earn it because it is a gift from God. Bible says in Ephesians 2:8 it is by grace you have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
You see God gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ for all of our sins and whoever believes in Jesus will be saved and granted forgiveness of sins and eternal life is merely the grace of God. Jesus died the cruel death to pay for our sins with His sinless and divine blood is powerful grace. However, we need to keep in mind grace goes beyond our salvation event. It does not stop at salvation. The grace of God that started in our salvation continues throughout all our lives here on earth and in eternity. In other words, the grace that started working in you and me never ends.
This is the reason why Peter says this about God in 1 Peter 5:10, “the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” Praise the Lord. It is the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in and through Christ. The same God of all grace will complete the work that began in you by restoring you, making you strong, firm, and steadfast.
After this statement, Peter says our today’s daily insight. “I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.” Whatever life throws at you- friends throw at you, family throw at you, co-believers throw at you, world throw at you, temptations throw at you, weakness, tiredness, troubles, persecutions and your powerlessness throw at you, the grace of God stands ready like the concrete ground beneath you to get you through.
You see, God is 100% committed to your victory. Bible promises this in Philippians 1:6, “I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King returns to redeem the world.” (The Voice). He will not stop and leave you. He will keep on perfecting you until the day of Jesus Christ’s return. The way He accomplishes this is by His powerful ‘grace.’
Beloved, if you believed in Christ, you are the child of God. He has abundant and overflowing grace all around you and throughout your life. God gave you so many promises along with his concrete promised ground of grace for you. Claim it every day. Stand firm in it. This is the secret of the victorious Christian life.
May I ask you this question? Did you accept God’s grace and gift yet? If not, today is the day for you to come and receive God’s grace freely without paying for it. A gift is never earned by work. If acquired by work, it would not be a gift. God’s grace is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus died and rose again for all of your sins. You can get saved from all your sins and obtain eternal life in heaven with God by accepting Christ as your savior. Jesus Christ is the savior of the whole world. He is not the savior of just a few people or nations. God sent Him for the entire world as the only savior of humankind.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I need your mercy, loving-kindness which is your grace. I know You sent Jesus Christ to die for my sins. I believe He died and rose again for all of my sins. Please save me and guide me all through my life with your powerful grace until I come to you in heaven. I thank you for your grace and salvation. In Christ’s name, I pray.”
Will I be condemned or judged?
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:17-18.
Amid all the personal trials of living on this earth, people often are worried or scared about their future security. The ultimate scary or worrying thing is, will I be judged? Will I be condemned for the bad things I have done intentionally or unintentionally? Some people ended up in suicide because their souls charged them regarding the wrong things they have done. Alternatively, thousands end up in depression and lose interest in life because of something in the past.
When people get older, some worry that they may get condemned for the things they have done at a young age. The same thought of impending judgment can destroy the peace of those who are on sickbed or nearing death.
For people who worry about judgment or condemnation, God and Jesus have a magnificent promise. God promises I did not send the Son (Jesus) into the world to judge you, but that you might be saved by him. What a relief! Listen to what Jesus says, “whoever believes in Him is not judged or condemned (NASB and NIV). Those who believed in him meant those who accepted Jesus as their savior. Those who believe Jesus died for their sins, were buried and rose again on the third day. The absence of judgment or condemnation for their sins and mistakes (for those who accept Christ as their savior) is called the good news or the gospel.
You will not be judged or condemned if you believe Jesus is your savior. Isn’t a wonderful, life-giving, and hope-filled promise for those who struggle with the thought of future judgment or condemnation? One of my friends in middle age said that he did a few bad things and good things in life in a personal conversation. He would not have done bad affairs, had he known better at that time. However, it caused sadness and weeping in other people. He also said he did a few good things. He only hopes that ultimately he would not be condemned for the bad things he had done.
I shared the good news of the promise of Jesus Christ with him. The Bible says in Romans 8:1 that, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I also showed him Romans 6:23 which says, For the wages of the sin he committed is, of course, death; however, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He asked me how is that possible. I said Jesus, being the savior, took all of his sins from his account and placed them on His divine and sinless body. Then He went to the cross, died in his place, was buried, and victoriously rose again from the dead on the third day. This is how he fully paid for all of his sins. As our insight, today says, God did not send the Son into the world to judge him. He sent his Son so that he might be saved through him. “Whoever” means- it does not matter who you are – how worse your sins are or how minimum your sins are – if one believes in the name of Jesus Christ, he or she is not condemned period!
Condemnation or judgment comes upon people only for one reason, and that is also stated in our insight. It says whoever does not believe in Jesus Christ stands condemned because he or she has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son-Jesus Christ. There is no other ground for future judgment. The only ground of future judgment is the non-acceptance of Christ Jesus.
Why don’t you go condemnation/judgment-free by inviting Jesus as your savior today? I will help you to do just that now with a small prayer of acceptance.
“Father in heaven, I believe you sent Your Son, Jesus, into this world not to judge me but to save me through Him. I believe Jesus died in my place for all of my sins and shortcomings. I believe he was buried and victoriously rose again. I accept Jesus as my savior and Lord. Please forgive my sins and make me your child with no condemnation, as you have promised. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”
You Should Not Live By Bread Alone!
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” Colossians 3:16 (a).
We fill the gas tank of our car. Most people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner three times a day. Also, many take snacks in between. We want healthy food so that we can go to work and take care of house duties and other responsibilities. What happens if a car does not have enough gas? It stops on the road. What happens if you go hungry with no food? You can’t go much far. You would faint and not be able to do your daily functions.
Our body needs physical food. Indeed, our soul needs spiritual food. Physical food nourishes your body. Spiritual food nourishes and makes your inner man solid and healthy. The spiritual food you need daily is the Word of God- the Bible verses.
Some of the benefits of spiritual food are given below.
The Word of God (the Bible verses) gives life, revives, and replaces discouragement with encouragement (Psalm 119:25. GNT, TLB)
The Word of God gives great peace- nothing will make them stumble (Psalms 119:165 (HCSB)
It gives strength to your weary bones (Psalm 119:28 NIV)
It gives you hope (Psalm 119:49 NASB)
It gives you more understanding than your teachers (Psalm 119:99 ESV)
It makes you wiser than your enemies (Psalm 119:98 NIV)
It comforts, strengthens, and refreshes you in the time of trouble (Psalm 119:50 NASB, TLB)
It is a lamp to your feet (Psalm 119:105 NASB)
It gives light on our path (Psalm 119:105 NASB).
As physical food gives you physical energy, strength, and health, spiritual food, the Bible verses, gives you mental and emotional energy, strength, health, understanding, and wisdom.
Beloved, you cannot just afford to have physical food and ignore spiritual food. Many people are dead inside, although they have physical life in their nostrils, simply because they lack good, balanced, healthy spiritual food. They are not comforted, their wounds are not cleaned with oil, and bam, no internal strength, no hope, no understanding, and the absence of simple wisdom- these all are because of the lack of healthy spiritual food.
Spiritual malnutrition is more alarmingly dangerous than physical malnutrition. The tragedy is many people are not aware of it. It has the potential to kill people slowly and steadily. Simply the awareness of spiritual poverty is a significant step in the direct direction. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If you are aware of spiritual poverty and realize the need for God, He is willing to place you in His kingdom.
You can get spiritual food by listening to the Bible messages like the one you listening to now. Make sure you are listening to only Bible teaching and preaching lessons. There are positive talks without an in-depth study of the Bible verses. You need to listen to good Bible teachers who are gifted and trained to interpret the Bible verses in an excellent and God-honoring way so that you would flourish and grow spiritually. For this purpose, you must be a member of a good Bible-teaching and Bible-preaching church in your area. Go and check it out. You will never regret taking this first step. You and your family – your spouse and children- need good Bible teaching so that your inner man will grow healthy and vibrant. Thereby you would have peace, hope, encouragement, and comfort. You would possess the understanding and Godly wisdom. You have the lamp for your feet to walk the right path. You have the light when you walk so that you would not fall. And more than all, you will have abundant and eternal life.
Listen to Christ’s and the Bible’s messages and read the Bible. As you read the Bible, underline the verses you like. Then meditate on it for a few seconds or minutes. The verses you liked, write down on a card or paper. Reflect on it later. Try to memorize the verses. Reflect on those ideas you learned from the verses many times. Let it go down deep into your soul. Then start applying it to your daily life in small ways. Be consistent in applying. Without much time, you are on your way to a big spiritual growth spurt that impacts you and others around you. God gets the glory.
Today’s insight says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Would you decide to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in you? Of course, it all starts with making time daily to listen to the Bible messages, read the Bible, memorize, reflect and then apply it in your personal life.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I want the Word of God richly dwells in me so that my inner man would be comforted, strengthened, protected, and guided by your Word. I know the Bible says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal and everlasting Word became a person in Jesus Christ, and He came into this world and died and rose again for my sins and shortcomings. Please forgive my sins. Lord, come to my life, save and bless me today. Make me rich in your Word. In Christ’s name, I pray, Amen.”
Share Your Plans with the God of the Universe!
“Share your plans with the Lord,
and you will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3.
Danny L. Deaube said, “God’s will is like a jigsaw puzzle; you won’t be able to see the whole picture until all the pieces are together.” CEV.
An intelligent and wise counsel is this- Include God in all your plans. I mean, talk to him and share all your plans with Him. Not just a few here and there. All your plans. This means you have ongoing communication with the Lord God all through the day. Excellent! You are on the way to success beyond your expectations. Out insight today promises this to you.
You may ask why I should do it. My counter-question is – why shouldn’t you do it?
In Jeremiah 29:11, God says He has plans for you. Not only He has plans for your personal life, but he also says He knows well the plans He has for you. The verse continues to say how good his plans are. The Lord God Himself declares His “plans are for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (TLB).
Are you a school/college student? Are you wondering about your future? Are you looking for a job and do not know what to do? Are you middle-aged? Or are you a retiree? God says He has plans for your life.
Bible also says in Proverbs 19:21, people may have a lot of plans. But only the purpose of the Lord will prevail. Great news, right? Like it or not, only His plan going to prevail in the end. If he has a good plan that avoids evil, includes a good future and hope, and again if only His plan is going to prevail in the end, it is only a prudent practice to share with God all your plans and allow him to direct and straighten your ways and paths. He uses His plan and your plan and then makes it all good in the end. Discuss with Him.
Lesson 101. God is God. We are not.
God is omniscient. That means all knowledgeable. He knows the past, present, and future. He knows the end from the very beginning. Therefore He can take into consideration all the possible consequences/outcomes and give you the best plan. Our knowledge is very limited. We do not know the future. Yet, he sees all your future today.
God is omnipotent. This means He is all-powerful. If he is all-powerful, he is able and powerful to make things happen to you so easily.
He is omnipresent. This means God is present everywhere at the same time. This means when you travel in your car, airplane, ship, or walk on the road, workplace, in classrooms, facing issues, he is present with you. He can protect you from all harm and dangers and guide you to succeed.
Beloved, don’t you know you have to depend on others in your everyday life? You must depend on your car to take you to work. Then you need to depend on your boss for his approval or disapproval of your requests. If you think about it all, we have to depend on others anyway in our everyday life.
The better and the wisest route is this –More than you depend on others, why don’t you fully depend on an all-powerful, all-knowledgable, all-present, loving, merciful, and gracious God who has a perfect plan for you? Because God is sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowledgable, and all-present, He is in total control of all people and events.
Our daily insight says, “Share your plan with the Lord, and you will succeed.” Try it out! Then taste and see the Lord is good. When you share all your plans with the Lord, you will succeed no matter what happens. God is in the driver’s seat and you are in the backseat. When everything is said and done, it won’t be bad in the end. It will come out good and successful. An amazing deal, right?
Bible talks about people who do not include God in his plans in James 4:13-17. They make a plan without sharing God or including him in it. They say today or tomorrow we would go to a certain city, stay there to do business, and make a lot of money. However, they do not know what his life will be like tomorrow. He does not understand he is fully dependent on God even for his next breath. They do not think their life is like a puff of smoke that can disappear at any moment. However, they boast about themselves and proudly make a plan for the future without discussing it with God.
On the contrary, sharing all your plans with God is the safest and smart way to live here on this planet earth that guarantees success. Bible says to submit all your ways to the Lord God. If you do so, He will make your path straight and successful. (Proverbs 3:6).
Beloved, the Bible also says you can’t approach God (1 Timothy 6:16) because He is unapproachable light, and holy and we are not. However, God made a way to come to Him in the person of Jesus. Jesus paid for all of our sins on his divine body, by his blood. Now you can boldly come to God in the name of Jesus Christ. There is power in the name of Jesus Christ. Big and heaven-sized things are in store for you when you share your plans with Him and submit to his sovereignty.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I submit all of my plans to you. I will discuss all my plans with you because I know you can see the future, you are all-powerful and all-present. I know I can come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus died and rose again for all of my sins. Please save me today and lead me into your good and perfect plans. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.”
The knowledge of the truth produces well-built convictions.
“For those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14 (b).
Our nation and the world are more divided than ever before. In such divided ideologies, how do we get strong convictions? Without convictions, we will be a group of people tossing different opinions and ideas. Strong convictions are the characteristics of people based on their acquaintance with the truth.
You see, many people believe there is no absolute truth. Because of the absence of awareness of truth, they side with and make decisions with the majority’s opinions or ideas. No wonder there is an absence of convictions these days. The awareness of truth is the source of strong convictions. Truths are not embodied in suggestions or opinions. It displays unshakable convictions. Until we have steady knowledge of the truth, we will not hear or experience convictions.
Those who have strong convictions based on the knowledge of the truth are those who make things happen. They are the ones who change the world for the better. As we discussed, the knowledge of the truth is the basis of strong convictions that lead to the right moral decisions and changes. Such people are the paradigm shifters for good amid bad and evil incidents. In a culture of relativism and political correctness, how do we come across absolute truths? Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32
For many, the truth has not set them free as of yet. How do I know the truth? How do we distinguish truth from falsehood? Good and evil? How do we know whether what a person speaks is true or not? There are absolute truths. You and I must see the truth to experience true freedom and distinguish good and evil.
You see, truth is not merely heard sayings. Truth is not merely a few ideas handed down to us through generations. We will know the truth only from the creator who created us. There is the only source of truth. God, who created us, gave us the truth of it all in the Bible. The Bible is the owner’s manual that reveals all the truth about life and the future. You see, when we buy a toy for our children, or a table for our office, the owner who created it gives us a manual to read and understand the truth about how to fix it. It also provides troubleshooting methods. Only the creator of that item knows the truth about his creation. By reading the owner’s manual, we get convictions.
The same is with God, who is the creator of all. To distinguish good from evil, to know the truth from falsehood, to know the original from duplicates, we need God’s book that He gave to us for daily life. It is called the Scripture-the Bible. The Bible has this claim- “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16. Jesus said in his intercessory to the Father in heaven, and it is recorded in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth”. In other words, separate them by knowing the truth. Then He said how we know the truth, “Your Word is truth.” Your (God’s) Word – the scripture (the Bible) is the truth.
As we get to know the Scripture-the Bible, we will have a strong conviction developing from the truth’s affirmation. We will learn how to distinguish between truth and false. We will understand who tells the truth and who says things based on falsehood. God’s eternal principles revealed in the Bible are the body of truth. Without knowledge of those truths, we will never have convictions. We will have opinions. However, such thoughts and ideas are like waves of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. The result would be double-mindedness and instability.
One more point before I close: Apostle John said this about Jesus in John 1:14. He wrote, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. If you and I want to know the truth, in addition, to getting acquainted with the Bible, take a look at Jesus Christ by reading the four Gospels in the New Testament section of the Bible. Jesus was not only full of grace but also full of truth. The more you know Jesus personally, you will see the truth, which would result in unshakable convictions.
Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, fill in me the truth about you, life here on this earth, and the future. I understand Your Word – the Bible – is true. Help me to read and train myself in truth. I also know that Jesus is full of grace and truth. I want to know Jesus intimately. I believe Jesus died, buried, and rose again to save me from my sins and wrongdoings. Please forgive my sins and save me now. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
God Has A Purpose In Your Suffering!
“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. The more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.”
There is a divine purpose for your severe trials and troubles. When you are suffering, remember God’s promise that He comforts you in all your problems, if you give it all to him in prayer. The ultimate purpose of your sufferings is that God expects you to comfort those who face the same type of trials you faced. The reason is this – God comforted and delivered you in all your troubles and you in turn become the channel for others to experience the wonder-working power of God.
Take a moment and recollect the worst experience you had in your life. It is not your power or ability that helps others, but the sharing of your bad experiences and how God comforted and delivered you. Share your lowest points of life with others and let them be comforted in knowing there is a God who specializes in turning weakness into victory.
Your story becomes their story, and they enter into it and experience God’s comforts and deliverances.
Our verse also says the more we suffer, the more comfort God will shower us. The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 4: 17, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” Listen! Our present troubles divinely produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! The beautiful promise of God that you can claim when you are under trials and difficulties.
Even when you think you are weighed down with troubles, God says it is for your comfort and salvation. And the comfort and salvation you received become the pathway for another person in this world who goes through the same type of trial you experienced.
Keep in mind, God wants to use even your seemingly shameful things happened to help others to know God’s comfort and deliverance. Don’t hide it in your private life. May God gets glory out of it, and it produces glory that outweighs and lasts forever.
When you think about it, Jesus’s sufferings produced the greatest glory that outweighs all. By the voluntary death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for all of your sins, God comforts and forgives you the moment you come and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. There begins the ministry of comfort for you and to others through you.
God loves you and wants to make you His child, not by your meritorious works or deeds, but by the merit of what Jesus did for you on the cross by dying in your place to pay for your sins and resultant judgments. God comforts and delivers you through the sufferings of Jesus. God
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