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DEVOTION
QUIET TIME
MONDAY
God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
--2 Corinthians 5:19-20
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
The price has been paid. The ransom is provided. God's judgment was averted, not because of anything we did to appease him, but by his own sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. If God has gone to such great lengths to reconcile us to himself and adopt us into his family, how can we refuse? We must not! Father God, we offer you our hearts!
MY PRAYER...
O Gracious God, I know my sin has broken your heart and offended your holiness. Words, therefore, cannot communicate my thankfulness to you. You were hurt by my sin and yet provided a sacrifice to redeem me from it and reconcile me to you. I praise you for your grace, thank you for your love, and promise to share your mercy. Through Jesus my sacrifice I pray. Amen.
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TUESDAY
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
--1 John 4:20-21
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Love! The word can mean anything. Many in the Christian community have tried to define it by a dictionary or lexicon, not realizing the key word for love, agape, is defined by action. Before Christians got a hold of agape, it meant the same thing our word today does: just about anything! But if you read 1 John, you see what love is by what God does. God demonstrates his love. He asks us to do the same for our brothers and sisters. Love must be more than talk, it must be genuinely demonstrated in action!
MY PRAYER...
Precious Father, you have so graciously shared your love with me. I must confess, in my heart I intend to love others as you do, but my intentions often get washed away with "busy-ness" or timidity. Father, through your Spirit, prompt me to show my love to others in actions rather than just thought and talk. Through Jesus, your greatest demonstration of love I pray. Amen.
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WEDNESDAY
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
--John 8:31-32
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
There are few things more coveted than freedom. People die for it. People pray for it. People strive for it. True freedom comes from knowing truth. Knowing truth only comes by living in obedience to Jesus. Truth is not something you merely think about or believe. Truth is something you do/you live. Jesus' teaching always ends with the exclamation: Blessed are you who do these things! Only by doing will we ever know the truth that liberates us.
MY PRAYER...
To the only true God be glory, honor, power, and praise. Father, I seek not only your presence in my daily life, but also your pleasure in the choices I make. Please teach me more of your truth as I pledge to live today in obedience to your word and your will. Through Jesus the living Word I pray. Amen.
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THURSDAY
Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
--Galatians 5:16
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
I want you to think about an orange rhinoceros flying with blue wings. Now quit, I don't want you to think about it anymore. You know there is no such thing as an orange rhino that flies, much less one that flies on blue wings. Oh course the point is simple: the more we try to not do something, the more we focus on it and ensure we do what we are not supposed to do. That's why the gift of the Holy Spirit is so important. He enables and empowers us to move beyond our sin -- not by focusing on it and refusing it, but by enriching us and "distracting" us with the important things of God.
MY PRAYER...
Abba Father, I thank you so much for your Holy Spirit that lives in me and is now interceding with you for me. Please fill me with your Spirit so that my life more nearly reflects your will and focuses on your concerns. Through Jesus, who poured out your Spirit upon me at my baptism, I pray. Amen.
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FRIDAY
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.
--Philippians 2:14-16
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Stars. They've always been a source of constant hope for God's people. "Your descendants will be like the stars," God told Abraham. "When I see the stars, what is man that you are mindful of him?" the Psalms ask. The Wisemen from the East followed a star to Jesus. Luke reminds us that Jesus was a bright star come to us from heaven to shine God's light to those in darkness. And now, we're stars. God gives points of light in the dark sky of the universe. So let's make today a day where our light shines God's glory to a dark world around us.
MY PRAYER...
Almighty God, the incredible expanse of your universe, with its billions of stars, exceeds my limited comprehension. But I thank you for calling me to be a light in the dark world around me and I pledge to shine your light today in the lives of all those I can. Through the name of the Bright and Morning Star I pray. Amen.
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SATURDAY
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
--1 Corinthians 10:13
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
TEMPTATION... We've all been there. Satan's silver bullet designed just for our heart. "No one will ever know, besides it won't hurt anybody!" Some mysterious voice sounding like our own whispers inside our head. Even if those two statements were true, and they never really are, it would matter because something inside of us caved in to what we knew was wrong. One line of defense is to simply remind ourselves we are not alone in this temptation -- others have faced it and conquered it, so we can too, by God's help and the power of his Holy Spirit.
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SUNDAY
In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the prophets.
--Matthew 7:12
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
The Golden Rule -- golden because it's genuine, lasting, and valuable. Imagine how different our world would be if we practiced this principle -- not just in our "church life" but in our daily life with our family, with our coworkers and employer, with the people we manage, with the folks on the freeway and in the neighborhoods where we drive, toward the waiters and waitresses who serve us. What a wonderfully different world it would be if the Golden Rule were to be practiced. I think I'll start changing my world with it today! How about you?
MY PRAYER...
Generous Father, you have blessed me with so many rich and wonderful gifts. I can never repay you. One thing I want you to know, dear Father, is that I especially appreciate the way you have treated me with grace and not with justice or judgment. Give me the power to do the same with the people my life touches this week. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
TIME SPENT WITH GOD IS NEVER WASTED YOU MAY ENJOY THIS SELECTION
A QUIET TIME WITH GOD.
For your DEVOTION next week, consider my selection and I pray God to give you the insight of His word in Jesus Name. Amen
MONDAY
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth. --John 4:24
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Genuine worship is a gift. Since God is spirit, since he is holy, we cannot fully approach him without the gift and blessing of his Holy Spirit. As Christians who received his Spirit when we were baptized into Christ and born of God, we can now speak to him and worship him Spirit to Spirit.
MY PRAYER...
Abba Father, by the gift of your Spirit I come to you as your child. Thank you so much for giving me your Spirit so that I can approach you with confidence and know you hear the concerns of my heart. Please accept the worship of my heart, of my words, and of my actions. May the things I do today bring you glory. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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TUESDAY
Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." --Mark 9:35
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Last? Nobody likes to be last. We have a hard enough time settling for second place, much less last place. Jesus reverses the rank. The person who is most important to him is not the person seeking the status and notoriety. The most important person is like Jesus himself: willing to give up rank and status and importance to serve. For Jesus, last means first in service and first in the eyes of God.
MY PRAYER...
Magnificent God my Savior, you have made the world wonderful for me and have given your Son to redeem me. How can I ever thank you or repay you for your grace and kindness. Today help me see those you want me to serve with grace and kindness as I try to be more like you. This I pray in the name of the one who washed his disciples' feet. Amen.
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WEDNESDAY
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. --Ephesians 4:2
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
"You mean I have to put up with that!" There are those folks in life about whom the saying is true: "They are the grit out of which we are to fashion our pearl." But our great example in this challenge is Jesus. Think of what he had to put up with in his 12 disciples. Remember how transformational his patience and gentleness with them was. Can we dare to less?
MY PRAYER...
Give me strength and patience, O God that I may be as loving, gentle, and patient with others as you have been with me. Through Jesus my Lord and hero I pray. Amen.
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THURSDAY
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you. --Psalm 86:5
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Forgiveness is such a sweet blessing. But God does more than forgive! He cleanses and forgets. His love is not metered out or carefully rationed. He pours it out upon us if we genuinely seek him as our God and Father.
MY PRAYER...
O Precious Father, I call to you wanting you to know how important your love and forgiveness are in my life. Thank you for sending Jesus to show your love and pay the debt of my sin.
Help me to live today as your child: may others see my joy and my passion, to you glory. Through my Savior I pray. Amen.
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FRIDAY
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. --Deuteronomy 6:4-5
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
So many times Satan seduces us into a flat, 2 dimensional Christianity - going to church and doing good deeds. But God calls us to a three dimensional faith. He wants us to love him with all of our being in all of our actions and with all of our might.
MY PRAYER...
Dear Heavenly Father, I honor you as God Almighty. I appreciate you for all your kindness and blessings lavished upon me. I love you because you first loved me in Jesus. My heart's desire today is to demonstrate my love for you in all I do, and love and say.Through Jesus. Amen.
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SATURDAY
As it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. --1 Corinthians 2:
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Many of the things we anticipate and dream about are much less glorious in real life than they were in our imaginations. There is one event, however, that is better than we can imagine and beyond our wildest dreams. When Jesus returns to take us home to be with our Father, it will be far better than we can ask, imagine, dream or think. Maranatha - Come Lord Jesus!
MY PRAYER...
Abba Father, thank you for knowing me before time began. Thank you for crafting me in my mother's womb Thank you for sending Jesus to pay the price for my sins. And thank you in advance for the day Jesus comes to take me home to be with you forever. Through my Conquering Savior I pray. Amen.
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SUNDAY
I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. --Psalm 59:16
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
So many things in our lives can be stolen away by natural disasters, aging, and death. Satan could be appropriately called "The Thief of Always." But God is immovable and unstealable! We can invest ourselves in him and know our spirits are secure in his care. He is a fortress and a refuge.
MY PRAYER...
O Great Rock of my salvation, thank you for being unchangeable and faithful. Thank you for being the source of security and future in a day of chaos and change. Thank you for being God. You are my God and in you I place my life, my hopes, and my future. May you be glorified in me today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Precious One, if you have been blessed by these selections, why not write me a note and also refer other friends of yours so as to bless them too. Once again God richly bless you.
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Reserved Messages
CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION
by Dr. P.P. Job
Wish you a Happy Easter from New Delhi in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Over the centuries the philosophy of Christianity has developed in varied patterns all over the world. While the occasion of Easter is celebrated with great fervor by Eastern churches, Western churches give more importance to Christmas and have a muted celebration of Easter. In India, which is a Hindu dominated country, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas are given equal importance and are declared holidays. This is mainly because the uniqueness of Christian faith according to the Eastern thought is based on the virgin birth of Jesus Christ as well as His resurrection. When Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India, late C.M. Stephen, who was the then Communication Minister, requested Mrs. Gandhi to declare Good Friday a public Holiday. In America, Good Friday is a working day, though both Christmas and Easter are holidays.
Christianity as a religion requires faith that transcends reason. This is because its foundation is based on miracles. The birth of Jesus through virgin Mary is the first miracle. The resurrection of Jesus Christ after His crucifixion is the second miracle. A true Christian, therefore rests his faith on a power beyond his reason thereby accepting that everything is possible for the Lord Almighty who sent His only son to die for our sins that we might have life and have it abundantly.
Christian philosophy is universal and contemporary. The fact that resurrection follows death is seen everywhere even today. Wherever there is a crucifixion (persecution) in any part of the world, you will see there a resurrection (revival) also. This implies that the way Jesus showed us is the True Way and He truly is the Son of God who controls the whole world.
When Mr. K.R. Narayanan was elected the President of India – it was a true reflection of the Christian philosophy. Mr. Narayanan belonged to the lowest strata of society which was a crucified community. His community had suffered social prejudice, poverty and religious ostracization for many centuries. But when a man belonging to such a community rose to the highest office in India – it was an example of the Christian philosophy in action. That day Christ was resurrected in the capital of India. Mahatma Gandhi had prophesised that a day would come when a Dalit would become the President of India because Dalits had been victims of great persecution. His prophecy was a result of his interactions with a Christian pastor called C.F. Andrews, who showed the Mahatma the Christian philosophy of “resurrection following crucifixion.”
A Christian believer’s life is based on crucifixion. Campbell Morgan, a British author and preacher wrote in one of his books, “Only a crucified man can preach about the crucified Christ.” When I was a student, I remember a tableau acted out by our class. The tableau was about the crucifixion of Jesus. The class selected a student to be Christ. From behind the stage, some students were holding the Cross, which stood on the stage. Now, the student who had to act as Jesus was put up on the cross. Another two students were selected to act as Roman soldiers and the students and the teachers selected me to act as Mary, the mother of Jesus because they said that I looked feminine. I was studying in VII standard at the time. The show would be only for one minute. The tableau started with the opening scene of the soldiers acting as if they were spitting on Jesus. But they had to be careful to spit without any actual saliva coming out. During one of the rehearsals, the soldiers spat with saliva on the face of the student who was acting as Jesus on the Cross. The saliva went into the eye of the one on the Cross. And since his legs and hands were tied up on the Cross he could not do anything to wipe the spit from his eye. Furiously, the boy on the cross shouted, “let me come down from this Cross and I will show you.” When you get spat on the face, i.e. when you face persecution because you are a Christian, how do you react – like true Jesus or like the boy acting as Jesus?
For many Christians, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are just incidents that happened centuries ago. But this is not so. We get crucified in this life many times. But do we accept the crucifixion? Only if we accept the crucifixion by faith are we able to resurrect our lives. A Christian life should be a living testimony of the life of Jesus Christ – a life that does not react with anger and vengeance to his enemies.
One day, a pastor in a church that I was preaching in, confided to me that the church was crucifying him from Monday through Saturday. A man standing nearby who happened to be one of the committee members of the church heard this comment and replied that though they were crucifying the Pastor Monday through Saturday every week he was still not dead. Being crucified is not the end. It is only the beginning of a new promise.
So how should one react to crucifixion? Accept it with faith and grace. At many times I have seen Christians being silent even when they are threatened with death. But when a person is dead in Christ, how would he react? By resenting crucifixion and denying Jesus. When Polycarp, a disciple of apostle John, was taken to be killed at the ripe old age of 80, he did not react against it. He said, “If you want to take my life, take it. I will go to Jesus and live forever.” Feeling sympathy for the old man, the soldiers told him that he would be saved if he denies Jesus. He replied, “I will never deny Jesus who helped me in my last 80 years.” In fact, a popular early Christian slogan was, “Come and die for Christ.” Even today, believers in Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia are ready to die for Christ.
The former Bishop Turtullian said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” When there is martyrdom, there is a resurrection. When I go to Coimbatore and see our 157 orphan girls, I see that they are the result of my son’s martyrdom and a symbol of resurrection. All the teaching and non-teaching staff and workers in Michael Job Centre at Coimbatore are the sample of resurrection while on earth. All the staff came to Michael Job Centre for the sake of the helpless orphan girls leaving their profession, high salary and all other facilities. So, here one sees a remarkable acceptance of crucifixion and the consequent resurrection.
Today make a pledge to yourself - I will suffer crucifixion gladly for my Jesus suffered it gladly. I will accept crucifixion with the strength of my faith. And only then will I get the sweet reward of resurrection.
May God give you a Happy Easter and a life of resurrection during this whole year!
(Stay blessed this Easter and remember that the life of the resurrection is expected of you after Easter celebration).My love and prayer goes out for you. Lordservant
LIVING WITH A PURPOSE<P>Beloved in the Lord, I want to share a sermon by Charles Spurgeon with you this month still under a purpose driven life. Spurgeon once wrote "Sometimes when we notice an evil and protest as boldly and conscientiously as we can against it, we feel that our protest is too obscure to have much influence. It will then be our very best resources to resolutely abstain from the evil ourselves and so, at least in one person, to overthrow its power. If you cannot convert a man from his error by an argument, you can at least prove the sincerity of your reasoning by your own behaviour. If no fortress is captured, you will at least "hold the fort", and you may do more: your faithfulness may win more than your zeal. Vow faithfully within your own heart and say frankly to your neighbour, "You may do what you will; but as for me, God forbid that I seek out new paths, however inviting, or turn aside from that which I know to be the good way." A determined resolution of that sort, according to Spurgeon which I believe 100%, fully adhered to, will often carry more weight and exert more influence on the mind of an individual than a host of arguments. Your actions will speak louder than your words. Lets stop argueing and rather start to demonstrate what we know is good and surely they all shall know and follow suit. As Christians, irrespective of our geographical background, ours is to influence people around us with the Light of Christ that we profess. May Jesus be found and seen in Us. Amen. Lordservant
Jerome Jacaboba Amoah
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