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It is with great pleasure that I write to you. This book does not come to you by accident. We believe that the Holy Spirit wants to equip, empower and energize you for His glory.

The idea to create a resource to empower a new believer significantly has been in our hearts for a long time now. Our search for this one resource that would work as a basic foundation for a new believer caused us to dive headlong into this project.

Even though we initially planned to use this book for our ministry crusades, we decided that putting it up online would help thousands others who may not be able to meet us in person.

This book will guide a believer on a 30 day walk through the Word of God to fully grasp elementary but essential Christian foundational teaching and equip them in their continuing walk with Jesus!

With the help of other sincere, committed and passionate Bible teachers, the Lord blessed us with this book.

We have intentionally avoided mentioning the names of the author above each posts,(unlike

how we do with our guest posts) as the objective of these posts is to serve as training material.

However, we are extremely grateful to all the authors who have partnered with this mission to equip the body of Christ.

My sincere thanks to Richard Chamberlain (UK), Jason James (USA), Tayron Corera (Canada), Priji Varghese, Cleophas David, Sheldon Bangera

Thanks to SMMinistries editors who have pooled in their very best, Virginia Pereira, Rathi Quinton and Kim Kumar. Special thanks to the SMM team who work behind the scenes on every project.

At the end of this, we would love to hear from you and how this series has blessed you.

May the Lord lead you and cause His face to shine on you.

Sincerely,Rev. Shyju Mathew

“The key is not in the memorizing or simply studying the Word of God but to allow it to become an integral part of one’s life. Study the Word of God till it becomes the database for your personal opinions in life.”

IntroductionGreetings

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The vision of Guarding the Heart Blog is to provide content that will empower your walk with Jesus. Some of the topics that we cover are spiritual growth, leadership, ministry, equipping the church, motivational, marriage, parenting, relationships, useful tips and tools.

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© Shyju Mathew Ministries, All rights reserved. All scripture references from ESV, unless specified otherwise.

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Day 1The Father, Son & the Holy Spirit

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“ The Father sent Jesus into the world; Jesus introduced them to Holy Spirit who in turn brings them back to Jesus; and Jesus leads them to the

Father. There is such a beautiful, mutual understanding and submission within the Trinity.

And it is the prayer of Jesus that we be one as They are One. This is exactly how our communities,

churches and families are meant to be.

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“That they may be one as we are one” (John 17:21).

This verse presents to us the strong desire and prayer of Jesus.

The word “Trinity” is originally derived from the Latin root word Trinitas meaning a “triad”. Tertullian, a Latin theologian from the 3rd century, was the first person to use the word Trinity in relation to the Godhead. Later in 325 AD, the first Council of Nicaea established the doctrine of Trinity with the publishing of the Nicene Creed.

Biblical Understanding

The theology of the Trinity is first revealed in the Scriptures in the creation story. There were three persons involved at creation: The Father (Gen. 1:1); the Son (the spoken Word of God; Gen. 1:3, John 1:1, Col. 1:16); and the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2). Then, we see a conversation among the Trinity in Gen. 1:26: “Let US make man in OUR own image, after OUR likeness.” 

We see the same presence of the Trinity later at the baptism of Jesus Christ: The Father spoke from Heaven and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove! Jesus further established the doctrine of the Trinity in Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Apostle John, who wrote the Book of Revelation after a vision of Heaven, further propagated this understanding of the Trinity in his statement: Grace be unto you from Him (the Father),… the seven Spirits (the Holy Spirit),… and from Jesus Christ… (the Son) (Rev. 1:4,5). John firmly establishes the doctrine of the Trinity in 1 John 5:7: “There are three that bear record in Heaven; the Father, the Word (Jesus; John

1:1), and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.”

(Anything to be established as doctrine should have been foreshadowed in the Old Testament, taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, and be a part of the theology formed by the disciples of Jesus in the Epistles.)

Nature of the Trinity

Now that we have observed Scriptural references for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is important for us to also understand their nature.

They are one in essence, attributes and power. None is more or less powerful. Just like the Father; the Son and the Holy Spirit are also eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, infinitely wise, loving, kind and merciful.

How the Trinity Works

God loves the fellowship of human beings, but God is not at all dependent on us for fellowship because there is perfect fellowship among the Trinity itself. There is absolute love, joy and peace within the Godhead.

United: There is complete unity in the motive and actions of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are completely submissive to each other to the extent that they are completely one in the very literal sense.

Like Jesus said: “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14). Furthermore, Jesus promised that He will never leave the disciples, and sent the Holy Spirit to be with them until the very end. That is how identical and united they are.

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Yet Distinct: Although there is absolute oneness in the personality and Will of the Trinity, there are differences in their respective functions.

A basic way of understanding the Trinity is through the use of a metaphor involving the sun, light and heat. From the sun comes the light; we see it and when we don’t see it, we feel its heat. All these three are inclusive; yet, have their own individual characteristics.

Right from creation to redemption, and to the resurrection; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have completely different roles, making it clear that they are three distinct persons.

Common Misconceptions

1. Since the explicit mention of the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, it is not a Biblical doctrine. Absolutely incorrect. The word “gravitation” was not part of the English Dictionary until Newton came up with his laws of motion. That doesn’t mean that the gravitational force did not exist all along. Newton only gave a name to that which already existed. The same applies here; we have only given a name to the Triune nature of God!

2. The Trinity is the Father, the Mother (Mary, who was the mother of Jesus on earth), and the Son. Absolutely incorrect. This concept is not based on the Word of God. Mary was only a carrier of what God had predestined and she had no direct involvement with the Trinity whatsoever. She was chosen to manifest Jesus on the earth; period.

3. The Trinity contradicts the verse in Deuteronomy 6:4. Absolutely incorrect. This is an argument posed by Zakir Naik, who is an Indian public speaker on the topic of Islam. He is featured at many Islamic conferences and debates the accuracy of the Word of God, specifically taking issue with Deuteronomy 6:4 that states that God is one.

The fact is that the Hebrew word used in this verse is “Echad” which stands for unity or oneness rather than the number ‘one’ which is “Aleph” in Hebrew. With this understanding, it is clear that Deuteronomy 6:4 refers to the oneness of God and not the one person of God.

4. God exists in three different forms or names. Absolutely incorrect. This is also another wrong understanding because we see the presence of the three different persons at the same time in the same place at different places right from creation to the resurrection.

5. The Father is an angry and cruel person while Jesus is loving and kind and the Holy Spirit is their servant. Absolutely incorrect. As we discussed earlier, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is completely one in their nature; infinitely loving and kind! You will see God showing mercy, forgiveness, love and judgement in the Old Testament as you will see in the New Testament too.

Conclusion

You will see the the ultimate expression of the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in John 14. The Father sent Jesus into the world; Jesus introduced them to Holy Spirit who in turn brings them back to Jesus; and Jesus leads them to the Father. There is such a beautiful, mutual understanding and submission within the Trinity.

And it is the prayer of Jesus that we be one as They are One. This is exactly how our communities, churches and families are meant to be.

Click here to visit or leave a comment on this post online.

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Day 2

The Father God

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“ Resting securely in the love of God is a birthright of every believer. You can be confident that your Father loves you constantly with an unchanging love (Rom. 8:39). God declares that in His love, He wants to be involved in every area of your life. There is nothing you do that God does not care about.

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As you grow spiritually, God’s desire is that you increasingly know Him as Father and His Father-heart in your life each day.

One of the great declarations of the Bible is that God is Our Father. The Bible tells us of the amazing closeness, intimacy, warmth and tender-heartedness of God, Our Father. When received through faith in Jesus Christ and acted upon, this truth gives amazing freedom and power in our lives as believers.

Unfortunately in societies around the world today, there are many “fathers” but few “good fathers.” This lack of knowing what a father signifies has led to many believers rejecting, or not fully receiving, the Father-heart of God. Do not let the devil steal away the joy of knowing your true Heavenly Father. Remember that even if you had a poor worldly father you can know and experience the amazing love and care of your Father in Heaven.

As you start to read, I want you to pray this prayer:

“Loving Heavenly Father, the Bible tells me of Your abundant love and care for me. Please forgive me for any wrong ideas I have about You as my Father. Renew my mind and correct my thinking, so that I might delight in Your love as much as You delight in loving me. Amen.”

Now, we are ready to begin looking at what the Bible says about the Father-heart of our Father in Heaven.

1. God as Our Father is Revealed in the Bible

The New Testament is full of passages declaring God to be Our loving Heavenly Father. Allow me to quote three important aspects of this:

1 One of the best known pictures of God as Father is seen in the parable of the

prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Here, the son runs away from his home and family, wasting his time and money in sinful rebellion. When he realises his foolishness, the son returns expecting shame and condemnation from his father. Instead, the father is shown to have been looking every day for his son to come back, and upon seeing him, the father runs to him, lavishing him with extravagant love and gifts. Never forget this picture of the Father’s love for you: God will never forget you, reject you, and always desires that you will come home to Him.

2 Jesus taught us to pray to God as Father (Matt. 6:9ff). Prayer is time spent in the presence of the Father. It is not only talking to Him but listening to His voice; it is a two-way conversation. Our Father wants you to spend time in His presence; praising, worshiping and communing with Him. He never ignores you, and He loves to hear your voice.

3 Jesus and Paul both declared that God is not just Father, but Abba. Abba is an Aramaic word which has no simple explanation in English, but is often said to mean “daddy” (Mk. 14:36, Rom. 8:15).

One person put it like this:“It is easier to explain Abba using the Italian language by looking at the word “Papa”. This is a real word very young children use for their Fathers and is pretty easy for them to say and is a term of great love and endearment. However, the very same word “Papa” is used for the Pope, someone the Italians particularly hold in great esteem. The word Papa therefore holds huge honour and a magnificence and reverence in that context and one of great intimacy and familiarity in the other.”

God wants us to know the intimacy of Him like a small child does with their dad, but also to understand that Our Dad is the Creator of the universe. He is mighty, powerful, awesome

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living God. Allow God to soften your heart so that you can call Him “Dad” and know that He looks upon you with favour and listens to your voice with delight.

2. Living Out the Father-heart of God

Knowing that God is Our Father is much more than just knowing some verses from the Bible; it is a truth that should change our lives. Below are five out-workings of the fact that God’s Father-heart is constantly towards us.

- It means we are constantly loved by Our Father

Resting securely in the love of God is a birthright of every believer. You can be confident that your Father loves you constantly with an unchanging love (Rom. 8:39). God declares that in His love, He wants to be involved in every area of your life. There is nothing you do that God does not care about.

- It means we will be provided for by Our Father

Becoming a part of the family of God means that your Father provides for you in many ways, for example:

1 Your daily food – Jesus taught us to pray in faith - “Give us this day our daily bread” – knowing that Our Faithful Father will provide as we ask (Matt. 6:11).

2 His Presence – God does not leave you to walk alone but gives you the Holy Spirit, the living presence of God within you. Lk. 11:13, “…how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

3 Gifts – In order to do the work the Father calls us to do, He equips us, giving us gifts so that we can do His work, in His power, for His glory (1 Cor. 12:1-11).

- It means you are forgiven by Our Father

You must live each day knowing that God is ready and willing to forgive your sins (1 Jn. 1:7-9). Yet, living in the forgiveness of God is at times tremendously challenging. We feel down because of the mistakes and sin in our lives. But failing to ask for and not receive God’s forgiveness can be crippling to your walk with God. When you sin, remember you have a Father who loves you unconditionally and is waiting for you to turn back to Him. He loves to forgive you.

- It means you will be disciplined by Our Father

In Hebrews 12:5-11, the Scripture talks about Our Heavenly Father loving us so much that He will discipline and correct us at times. Our earthly fathers corrected us so that we would live in the best way possible. Likewise, God disciplines us so that we might become more and more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18). This takes place in various ways: As you read the Bible and realise you have been walking in some way that is displeasing to God; as a conviction or thought placed in your mind by the Holy Spirit, etc. In fact there are all sorts of ways our Father speaks with us to make sure we live the abundant life He has promised (Jn. 10:10). If you are ever in doubt here, then ask someone who is older and more experienced what they think. Based on the Bible, they will be able to guide and advise you.

 - It means there is a hope and a future

There is no need to fear the future, or to fear death; for through our faith in Jesus, God our Father declares that there is an eternal home for us in Heaven. When this life ends, we shall be welcomed into Heaven! This gives our hearts great peace and security, for we know that we have believed and trusted our Father while living here on Earth. As we move on to Heaven,  we can be sure that Jesus has prepared a place for us (Jn. 14:2) and He will welcome us.

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In Closing

Knowing the Father-heart of God is a source of great peace and great power in your walk as a believer. The devil will try to convince you of all sorts of rubbish; that God doesn’t care at times; that your sins are too great to be forgiven; that God doesn’t love you…

I could go on but what is important is that you know and take hold of the fact that God’s Father-heart reveals all those things to be lies. God loves you and is calling you to greater intimacy; to a deeper knowledge of Him and His ways; to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Father, come and invade my heart with Your loving Presence. Heal my hurts; cast out my anxious thoughts. Let Your peace reign over all my life. Fill me afresh with Your wonderful Spirit so that I might live each day knowing the Father whose heart is always towards me. Amen.

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Day 3

Who is Jesus?

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“ He is the Hope of humankind. Whether He is laying in a manger or walking on water, He exudes a greatness that grips our attention. There is no one who hated sin more, and no one who loved the sinner more. He was so authoritative that demons would flee from Him; yet, so gentle that children would come to Him.

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Everyone must come to a decision about Him. There is no middle ground we can take. While some have dismissed Jesus as a fictional character, others have attempted to portray Him as merely a good teacher. However, both of these assumptions are terribly inconsistent. The truth is, there is no person in human history like the person of Jesus Christ. No serious historian would doubt his existence without risking his own credibility.

Considering that we have more historical documentation on Jesus Christ than anyone else in history is staggering. Consider for a moment that a person as widely accepted as Alexander the Great has five ancient sources dated 300 years after his death to attest to his existence.

On the other hand, not only have several non-Christian sources affirmed the existence of Jesus, but there are over 24,000 complete or partial manuscripts dated within 30 years of His resurrection that attest to His existence. To deny His existence while affirming the existence of anyone else in history is tragically inconsistent.

Therefore, one cannot question whether or not He really existed; now is the time to decide what to do with Him. This is where C.S. Lewis can be very helpful to us. Lewis famously suggested that we must decide what to do with Jesus, but our choices are limited. We must decide whether Jesus is a liar, Lord, or lunatic.

Lewis writes, “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.

That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says He is a poached egg — or else He would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.

Either this Man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

We would never dream of viewing a man, who had claimed to be before Abraham (John 8:58), as having the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:9-11); or He who refers to Himself as the only way to the Father as merely a good teacher (John 14:6). Jesus’ claims are far too bold to dismiss Him as such. So, who is He?

He is the Hope of humankind. Whether He is laying in a manger or walking on water, He exudes a greatness that grips our attention. There is no one who hated sin more, and no one who loved the sinner more. He was so authoritative that demons would flee from Him; yet, so gentle that children would come to Him.

Indeed, there is no one in all of human history like Jesus. When sin had created a chasm that we could not cross and we were incapable of reaching out to God, God came to us. Jesus took the penalty of sin that was due to us and bore the wrath of God so that we may be saved.

In fact, the Father made Jesus, who never knew sin, to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). So He took our sins, and as a result, we wear His perfection. This is the Gospel; and it is truly remarkable.

As Tim Keller writes, “The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news.” (The King’s Cross). At the heart of Christianity is not advice on how you can reach God, but news about what God has done in history to reach out to you; and He still opens His arms to anyone who wishes to come to Him. [Click here, to view the post online.]

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Day 4

Who is the Holy Spirit?

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“ The Holy Spirit has always been at work in the world, even from the time of creation. We are weak and fragile by ourselves, but the Holy Spirit is Our Helper and will teach us to walk in holiness for Him.

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Rev. David Yonggi Cho, Senior Pastor in one of the world’s largest churches (with more than 800,000 members) said: Every morning when I awake, I greet the Holy Spirit and invite Him to go with me through the day and take the lead in all my affairs, and He does. I say, “Good morning Holy Spirit. Let’s work together today and I will be Your vessel.” Every evening before retiring I say again, “It’s been a wonderful day working with You, Holy Spirit.”

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God. Although the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of God, it does not mean that the Holy Spirit is created by God, but because the Spirit is of God. The same way that the Son of God is equally eternal with the Father, so is the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11). This makes the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit one. (See more here on Trinity).

What the Holy Spirit is Not?

The Holy Spirit is not an it, a thing, a force, a voice or a bird. Although the Holy Spirit is compared to and manifested as a fire, dove, wind and so on, the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force.

Jesus calls Him “Counselor” (John 14:16). In John 14:17, Jesus says, “You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” In John 14: 26, Jesus describes Holy Spirit as a “Teacher.”

Holy Spirit and Man

The Holy Spirit has always been at work in the world, even from the time of creation. But with the fall of man at the birth of sin at the garden of Eden, the Holy Spirit withdrew from man. The consequence of sin was that all humanity faced an eternal, spiritual death. That is why

Jesus had to die on the cross for the redemption of the humanity.

After His resurrection from the grave, Jesus promised His disciples the power of the Holy Spirit as He was taken up to the Heaven. And the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. Ever since, the Holy Spirit has been closely working with us those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. See, John 14:15–17, 25–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15.

Ineffective Without The Spirit

As we live on this earth, we must realize that we are ineffective without the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus commanded His disciples to “wait until you receive the Holy Spirit.”

We are weak and fragile by ourselves, but the Holy Spirit is Our Helper and will teach us to walk in holiness for Him.

Just like Rev. David Yonggi Cho said: Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you today. Desire for a close, intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit today.

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

The Holy SpiritThird Person in the Trinity - Your Helper!

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Day 5

Spirit, Soul and Body

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“ This human spirit which was breathed and birthed into us by the Spirit of God dictates our soul and our body as we learn to continually walk with God. It is in the absence of this spirit that evil spirits take over and control a person’s soul and mind, leading him into sin and bondage (Matt. 12:43-45).

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Now that we have acquired a better understanding of the person of God during the first segment of this series, our study will focus on how we were created by God; separated by sin; and saved by His grace.

Created in His Image

Humanity came into existence when God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26, 27). God created man in His image and likeness.

But have you ever wondered what it means to be created in God’s likeness? Does it mean that we are all tiny god entities like the pantheists believe? Or does it mean that God has a physical body with two hands, two feet and other characteristics as humans do?

Man was created on the sixth day of “Creation Week”. It was on the same day that God created animals and reptiles too. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds– livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so (Gen. 1:24). Or in other words, the living creatures were formed of earth! This means to say that God used the same raw material for both humans and the animals.So then, how was man any different from the animals? It lies in the fact that God didn’t finish with man until He breathed life into him. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). God had breathed His Spirit into man. And it was at that moment that man became a living being!Now God is a Spirit, (John 4:24). Since we are made in His image

and likeness, we are also spirits. We have a soul and we live in a body!

Our Body

Although we are spiritual beings, we live in a physical world. We need this body to be sensitive to the things of this physical world. It is our body that helps us to exist here in the physical world. It is our temporary home. And hence, anything we do with our bodies affects our spiritual lives as well. That is why the Bible says: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1).Our body is prone to sin, and so our flesh fights the things of the Spirit. That is why – in Apostle Paul’s language – we will need the imperishable body: “Behold! I tell you a mystery… in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53). This body will be like Jesus’ body after His resurrection that can allow us to, for instance, defy gravity and the laws of physics, and even travel millions of miles within a fraction of a second! (Now that’s some fun that sounds like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie – imagine walking through closed doors, etc. – that would be quite an interesting experience!).

Our Soul

The soul of a human being consists of his/her emotions, will power, reasoning capabilities, intelligence, conscience, etc. — all of which stay in continuous stages of evolution, and mature on the basis of his family upbringing and the influence of friends, society, culture, and so on and so forth. The human mind, which is also a part of our soul, is a very important aspect of our life. A commandment in the Old Testament reads: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut 6:5).

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However, Jesus – when quoting the same commandment – added “the mind” to the list: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” (Mark 12:30), giving significance to loving God with our mind.

Our thinking and logical reasoning have to evolve and progress from the old “Adamic” style of thoughts into something refined and profound, like how Jesus would think (Rom. 12:2). I quote Shyju here, “A man is not greater than his thought life” because as a man thinks so he is (Prov. 23:7). The renewal of the mind comes with constantly meditating on the Word of God. We have to reach a place where we can confess as the Apostle Paul did that we also have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

The human heart is also a key aspect of our soul. That is where our emotions, our will power and our desires live. That is why the Bible says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The state of our heart determines our attitude towards life and people around us. That is why it is so important to guard our hearts. Our hearts can be hurt very easily, but it can’t be healed as easily without a touch from God.

Our Spirit

This is who we are! We are spirit beings! If our spirit is not alive, we are not alive either (Jam. 2:26). What happened in the Garden of Eden when sin entered humanity was the death of the human spirit.

And that is why each one of us needs to be born again. This birth is a spiritual birth. Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). We have to be born of the Spirit of God!

The only criterion to be “born of the Spirit” is to believe in Jesus. “If you confess with your mouth (body) that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart (soul) that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). The salvation, or in other words, the born-again experience is basically surrendering your body and your soul to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is at that moment that the Spirit of God gives birth to your spirit.

This human spirit which was breathed and birthed into us by the Spirit of God dictates our soul and our body as we learn to continually walk with God. It is in the absence of this spirit that evil spirits take over and control a person’s soul and mind, leading him into sin and bondage (Matt. 12:43-45).

Your spirit is your inner man. The more you feed your spirit, the stronger your inner man will be and the more your spirit will dictate terms to your soul and your body. Whatever you feed more will dictate terms for the other. For e.g., if you eat too much, your body will expect some relaxation, in turn overruling your mind’s schedule and your spirit’s leading. If you feed your mind with too much of television, it will start to rule over your body and your spirit! Since you are not a body or a soul, but a spirit, you should not allow anyone or anything to have control. Allow the Spirit of God to control your spirit

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”  – (1 Thess. 5:23).

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

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Day 6

What is Sin?

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“ “The Gospel is this:  that I am far worse than I imagine and simultaneously more loved and accepted by God than I ever dared hope for – because of Jesus’ death for me.”

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It is a topic that is familiar to us all. Even those we consider to be invincible in spirituality have been vulnerable to this poison; and all of us have drowned in it. What is sin?

Sin:  An immoral act against a divine law.

Some have also defined this way:  Sin is a failure to let God be God and placing something or someone in God’s rightful place of supremacy. There are times when we cherish money, possessions, ambitions, other relationships, and much more above the glory of God. There are times when we try to be the god of our own lives and not joyfully submit to Jesus; and most of the time, we disobey willingly and repeatedly. We exchange the glory of the Creator for the glory of created things (Romans 1:18-25).

The Problem: Why Do We Sin?

We all have experienced it. We know what we ought to do, but are unable to do it. We can make goals and plans and profess how we will change, but it nearly always ends in failure. The reason we are so disappointed is because we misunderstand sin. We typically think of sin as an action, something that we do. However, scripture also talks about sin as something that actually exists in us.

- It is parasitic in nature and is out to devour us (Romans 7:11)

- It takes root and kills us (James 1:14-15)

- It seeks to control us (Romans 7:20)

- The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)

Therefore, sin is not merely something that we just do. As some have said, it is not that we are sinners because we sin, but that we sin

because we were born sinners. We came into the world, before we even took a breath, completely fallen and needing God’s grace. That is why the Psalmist says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5). There is no one who does good. No not one (Psalm 53). Every one of us needs God’s mercy, because we have all fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23).

This is crucial that we understand this, because it will affect the way that we seek hope. If you believe that the problem is really a lack of education, then you will just try educating yourself for change. However, if the problem really is within us, as the Bible says, then there must be a radical transformation that has to come from outside of us. We must realize that our will was broken in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), and that is precisely why we can never simply will ourselves to victory – because we would be using what is broken to fix what is broken. That is why God must intervene.

The Solution: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Paul says that he is not ashamed of the Gospel for it IS the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is the power of God for salvation, transformation, and joyful fellowship with God. When we believe the Gospel, that Jesus finished it all, and that there is nothing else that we can do to earn God’s approval, make Him love us more or less, we are transformed. True repentance is having a revelation of what Christ has done, and turning away from our sin as a result.

The word repent in Greek (meta-noeo) actually means to feel remorse for an action and change directions as a result. However, it is not something that is purely emotional. In fact, the word in Greek can be sliced right down the middle, and two root words can be found.

What is Sin?And how to overcome it!

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The first part of the word meaning, “after” and the second part sharing the root for, “knowledge.” What is implied is that there is remorse, and a change in direction, but as the result of having some sort of revelation.

It is to change one’s direction or path after obtaining knowledge – conviction: that we are fallen, that God is an infinitely holy God, and He has come near to us in Jesus Christ. What joy there is in that!

In this life, we will continue to struggle with sin, as God is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. However, when we come to the cross, we are deeply convicted of our sin, and deeply encouraged by the immeasurable love of Jesus, who was willing to die for us.

We realize that there was nothing we could do to help ourselves, and yet God was willing to come to us. We are joyfully humbled that Christ lovingly took our shame, and we get a righteousness that is not our own (Philippians 3:5-11).

Because of Jesus, we are treated as people who have never broken the law, not even once. Not- Even- Once.

As Tim Keller once noted, “The Gospel is this:  that I am far worse than I imagine and simultaneously more loved and accepted by God than I ever dared hope for – because of Jesus’ death for me.”

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

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Day 7

What Did Jesus Do For Me?

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“ There is nothing that can make God love you more or love you less than He does right now. There is nothing that can make Him accept you more or accept you less. Everything that needed to be done has been done.

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Surprisingly, many Christians have never been told what Jesus has accomplished for them. To be sure, they know that Christ has died, and rose again, but hardly know how this incredible historical act affects them presently and in the future. 

As a result, some of us, when thinking about the death of Christ, either feel guilt that He would pay such a price for us, or do not know what to make of any of it at all; but it is far too wonderful to NOT know.

So, what did Jesus do?

No You Can’t.

Ever since the Garden of Eden, we have been incapable of doing well. Having come into this world with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5), the human heart proved to be desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). In fact, when God looks down upon the earth to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God, He finds no one (Romans 3:9-20).

Now, some may protest, “But there are so many good people in the world!” However, in response, the question is, “Good compared to who?”

To your circle of friends? Maybe.

To your family members? Sure.

But compared to a Holy, Righteous, Consuming Fire of a God who cannot stand to even look upon a single blemish? Not even close.

That is why when it seems like we are doing well, we should remember that our righteousness, that is, our good deeds, no matter how good they appear to us, are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). For God requires PERFECT OBEDIENCE, as His eyes are too pure to even look upon sin (Habakkuk

1:13). We may, like the Israelites who stood at the foot of Sinai, boldly believe that we can obey God in our own strength (Exodus 19:8), but we will fall short, as we always have (Romans 3:23).

Yes. He did.

However, Jesus obeyed.

When the Father demanded perfect obedience, Jesus did what we could not do. He lived perfectly, obeying the Father in everything, even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). He was tempted in every way, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He succeeded where Adam, Israel, and we failed.

Therefore, when we are in Christ, we are not treated as sinners who deserve the wrath of God. We are treated like people who have never broken the law. For God made Jesus, who never sinned, to be treated like a sinner, so that you and I would receive a righteousness that is not our own (Philippians 3:8-9), that we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Take a moment and let that sink in.

Your sins have been punished. It is not that God has acted like your sins have not happened. No, your sins really have been punished – all of it.

But just not on you. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus, so that we may live; and when God opens our hearts to actually believe this, it becomes the most life-altering, earth-shattering, love-awakening truth of the universe.

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Now, You Can.

Jesus did not only forgive us of our sins. He has also freed us from it as well. The Holy Spirit now works within us to sanctify us, and make us more and more like Christ as we behold Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, as we meditate on the truth of the Gospel, and depend on the finished work of Christ and not on our own ability, we are transformed. God removes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh, a heart that will finally obey Him (Ezekiel 36:26-27). We begin a process where God enables us to finally obey (Philippians 2:12-13), and do His will.

And if all that were not enough.

As a result of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, we are able to go boldly before God, as a child, and not as a slave (Hebrews 4:16). We go with more freedom than we would with our own earthly father. We go with more liberty than we do with our closest friend. For when Christ was on the cross, and loudly exclaimed, “It is finished!”, it meant that everything that needed to be done for our salvation had been done.

In other words, there is nothing that can make God love you more or love you less than He does right now. There is nothing that can make Him accept you more or accept you less. Everything that needed to be done has been done.

For Jesus has done it.

All glory and honor to Christ alone.

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Day 8

How to Follow Jesus

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“ Maybe you know you have made a mess of your life so far, you have failed as you walked in your strength and your ideas. God has not given up on you – in his love he is calling out for you to come to him through Jesus and experience the power of his forgiveness and receive a new life in Jesus.

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Some decisions you make are more important than others – whilst getting dressed this morning you might have thought of who you might meet, what meetings or classes you had to attend, whether it was sunny or raining etc. Nothing major or tragic was going to result from a wrong decision in any of these matters. However, in the big picture of your life there are some decisions that have massive implications – and from God’s point of view there is one major decision which dwarfs all else. God asks you, Who is Jesus?

Note the question isn’t who was Jesus – that would give you the option of disregarding him as some historical figure like Gandhi, Genghis Khan or Goliath. No, God is concerned about who you think Jesus is now, today, in the present tense.

The answer to that one question reveals your decision as to where you will spend eternity. Declare that Jesus is your Lord and you will be saved and God promises to welcome you into heaven for all eternity, Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”(NIV)

It is easy to imagine you can put this mega-decision off, surely there will be time later to decide, after all it is so important that it requires much thought, let’s not be hasty in this… This is the one decision you should not, in fact you cannot, procrastinate over.

Note two things:

Firstly, even the wisest of us does not know the date and time of their departure into eternity, you don’t know when you will die – but

whenever that is you can guarantee being in God’s presence as soon as it happens; Secondly, God promises us that life with him, real life, life in all its fullness as God intended for you, starts here and now the moment you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

God wants you to know Him now, in fact the Bible reveals an amazing fact; before the world was made God had decided he wanted you to be his child, and him to be your Father (Eph 1:4). God has always loved you and has always had a plan and a purpose for your life (Eph 2:4-10).

Many people want God to be part of their life – they want him to help them, to bless them, to make them feel good. The problem is they approach God from the position of what they want. The Bible looks at this from God’s perspective – it declares that we need God, we need to be forgiven, we need to be reconciled to God – and that can only happen through Jesus Christ.

Previous posts in this series have covered the important ideas of what Jesus has done for us and who Jesus is, and it is good to know these amazing truths. We have to be careful that these are not simply ideas but become realities in our life. This can only happen through asking Jesus to become Lord and Saviour of your life – and it has to be an individual, personal decision.

God does not have grandchildren – your parents might go to church but that doesn’t make you a Christian. You might go to church but that doesn’t make you a Christian. Only one thing can, a personal decision to ask Jesus to forgive your sin and to make him Lord of your life.

How to Follow Jesus6 practical steps!

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Maybe you know you have made a mess of your life so far, you have failed as you walked in your strength and your ideas. God has not given up on you – in his love he is calling out for you to come to him through Jesus and experience the power of his forgiveness and receive a new life in Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). In following Jesus Christ, God offers you a totally new life – something the Bible calls being born again. How does this take place, how can you make Jesus Lord of your life?

1. Believe and Accept

Deciding what you believe about who Jesus is, is the first step towards knowing and loving God. As a Christian you believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, who died on the cross in your place to take away your sins – and to remove the barrier that sin has created between God and you (Col 1:20, 2:13-15).

2. Repent

Turning from our old ways is the first step you take towards God – in effect you do a U-turn away from sin and start to walk a new life in God’s ways. (This was talked about in the section on what is sin and how to overcome it.)

3. Confess

We quoted Romans 10:8-9 earlier – you declare your faith, stating that you trust in Jesus to forgive and save you. Prayer, which is simply speaking to God and spending time in his presence, is a great way of declaring your faith, your love and your trust in Jesus.

4. Be Baptized

Being baptized in water as a believer is a sign showing your commitment to Jesus, declaring that you have become his disciple.This was an important step for the first Christians (Acts 2:38, 41) and is an important step of obedience for us (Matt

28:19) [More on this coming soon in the next post.]

5. Receive the Holy Spirit

When Jesus becomes Lord of your life then God gives you his presence and his power through the Holy Spirit who comes to live in you. In the book of Acts being filled with the Holy Spirit was usually part of salvation, and it should be part of your salvation experience (Acts 10:44). Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, believe he will answer your prayer (Lk 11:9-13, Jn 7:37-39, Eph 5:18).

6. Walk as a Disciple

We shall study more fully how we walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ (“walking the talk”), later in this series. One of the most telling descriptions of Peter and John (some of the first disciples) was that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). As you walk with him, Jesus will shape and change your life into something that is God glorifying and beautiful to behold.

“A believer changes their mind, a disciple changes their life” You have to choose – will you accept Jesus and God’s offer of eternal life through him, or will you reject him?

Pray this prayer or one like it if you want your sins forgiven and you want to become a child of God and a disciple of Jesus.

‘‘Lord God, I am aware that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for my sin. He took away the punishment due to me for my sin by taking it upon Himself on the cross. I repent and turn from my sin and I ask God’s forgiveness. I yield my life to Jesus and make Him my Lord and Saviour. I will obey His commands and live my life for His good pleasure. I know that I now am a child of God and my sins are forgiven as they have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Praise God, Amen.’’

Click here to view and discuss the post

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Day 9

Water Baptism

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“ You don’t become a Christian through baptism; you are baptized because you have become a Christian by believing that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior.  Water baptism is only as important as the believer believes it to be.

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The Bible declares in I John 4:10, ‘God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’  What a picture of His extravagant love! In the first segment of this study, we attempted to delve deeper into understanding the nature of God and there our eyes beheld His glorious majesty, His astounding power and unparalleled holiness.

Then in the second segment, we looked into our own natures, and had a glimpse of the depravity and wretchedness of our sinful state.  The beauty however lies in understanding the bridge that exists between the two drastically different segments; in realizing the extreme measures to which this awesome and holy God went, just to redeem and ransom you and I from the ugly mess we were sinking in – Sin.

In this third segment now, we will study about our response to this remarkable gift that God has given us – Salvation.

Baptism – Introduction:

A baptism service is one of my favourite services to be in. Being in the service always reminds me of that day nearly fifteen years ago when I made those exact vows to my lover and Lord – Jesus Christ.  Now, after all these years, I understand well all the symbolism and meaning that is beautifully woven into the service; but when I think back, I’m not really sure I knew completely what everything meant at the time.

And this is often the case with many new believers.  On the other hand, those of us who have been in the Church for several years, know all too well the many disputes and differences in opinion that arise pertaining to who should be baptized, how they should be

baptized, in whose name should they be baptized, etc., and the list goes on!

Much controversy and debate has clouded the importance of this doctrine in the Church.  According to Hebrews 6:2, the doctrine of baptism is part of the foundation, which the Christian life must be built.  So for the benefit of both the amateurs and veterans, let’s look to the Word of God and attempt to understand this beautiful ordinance of the Church.

What is Water Baptism?

The word ‘baptism’ is derived from a Greek term – ‘baptisma’ or ‘baptizo,’ meaning, ‘to immerse, to dip, to submerge’.  To baptize something means to put it completely under the water.  Therefore in water baptism, the believer is put completely under water, then immediately raised out of it.  As we already know baptism is given to those who have chosen to become Christians, therefore many people think that baptism is a magical ceremony that makes them Christians.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

Baptism is the commission of Jesus. Bible says in Matt 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The apostles in the early church followed this commission and preached the Gospel with power. The people were convicted almost immediately to be baptized of water.

You don’t become a Christian through baptism; you are baptized because you have become a Christian by believing that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior.  Water baptism is only as important as the believer believes it to be.

Water BaptismWhy, How & Most Asked Questions

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Water baptism is for our benefit, not God’s.  It does not ‘do’ anything to us to make us any more acceptable to God.  It is only a symbolic act of obedience with no extra power to save.

What does water baptism represent then?

1.   Water baptism represents your allegiance to Christ.  It is an act of faith and obedience to the commands of Christ.  Jesus said, ‘If you love me, you will obey what I command.’ And He has commanded baptism in Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20.  He did not command something He did not fulfill first; Jesus Himself was baptized.  Not because He was sinner, but in order to humble Himself in obedience to identify with us and give us an example to follow (Mark 1:9).

2.  Water baptism represents your personal commitment to Christ in a public setting.  Biblically speaking, baptism is merely an outward symbol of an inward change that has already occurred.  It is declaring to the world and the devil that you no longer belong to it; you now belong to Christ.  Remember, it is not something we must do to impress God, but something to impress on our mind and to others, what has taken place in us.

3.  It represents a clear break with your past.  When we are baptized, we are actually saying goodbye to our old life (self) that has passed away, and begin life as new creation who is now IN Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).  By becoming a Christian, you have been set free from your old master, Satan, and now belong to Jesus and you need to behave that way.  Water baptism represents a point of separation between your old and new lives.  It reminds you that you cannot keep living like you used to.

4. According to the Bible, water baptism for the Christian symbolizes his/her death, burial and resurrection with Christ.  Unless the person really believes they died, there is no need for a burial.  When you became a Christian, the Bible says you became a new creation; your old life has passed away (II

Corinthians 5:17). Water baptism helps demonstrate the reality of this spiritual truth that the old ‘you’ has died. ‘Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.’ – Romans 6:4. Therefore through your baptism you are publicly declaring that you have died to your sinful old life.

Answers to some common questions:

1. What about Child baptism? I am already baptized when I was a baby.

Ans: According to the bible there is no such thing as infant baptism. When the child is an infant it is unconscious of its sins. So there is no way that the infant baptism will have any effect on the child.Baptism is strictly being immersed in the water for those that believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Therefore a baby being sprinkled upon in faith of the parents do not have any significance.The only closest mention is of a child dedication with an offering unto God.  (Ref Luke 2:22:23)

2. Why was Jesus baptized?

When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. Luke 3:21 (GW)Jesus had no sin in him to be water baptised but still he went to fulfil the commission that was placed on John by the Holy Spirit.

3. What about the criminal on the cross? He did not get baptized?

Ans: I wonder why some of us would use this as an arguement to avoid baptism. Is it better we follow the thief or obey the commandment of Jesus? However the asnwer to that is the thief died, was burried and resurrected with Christ as Jesus promised him, “Today, you’ll be with me in paradise” That’s exactly what the baptism is a symbol of.

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4. Is Baptism to join a church or become a pentecostal by denomination?

Ans: This idea that if you are baptized in a certain Church, you are forever committed to it was neither taught by Jesus nor the apostles. The Bible says, “you were baptized into Christ” (Gal 3:27) and not into a Church.

It is true that every serious Christian must belong to a local church if one exists where he lives.  However, being baptized by a particular pastor or elder does not obligate the person being baptized to remain in that particular local church.  Nor is it right for pastors to demand such a commitment at the time of baptism, since this confuses the nature of the commitment of baptism, which is to Christ and not to a particular local church.

5. Will I go into heaven without water baptism?

Ans: The question to ask would be, why a person could not get baptized. Is it because you did not get an opportunity to get baptized or is it because you were ashamed to publicly admit your allegiance to Christ and obey Him completely in baptism. If it is the later one, then surely you will miss out on heaven. (Luke 9:26)It is important to believe in the Word of God and do what it says. Sometimes our denominational doctrines and practices can get in the way and confuse us from not doing so. But as stated in several scriptures, Jesus has commissioned us to not only to be baptized but to go and make disciples from all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.

6. When is the right time to be baptized?

Ans: The moment you believe in Jesus and want to obey His commandment you are ready to be baptized. With baptism you are deciding to follow Jesus all your life and committing to live a life of separation from the world. Hold fast to your decision; and you will receive the crown of life.Finally remember, water baptism is an act in accordance with the Word of God and we must do it most importantly because of our Love for our Master Jesus and because we want to obey His Word unconditionally.

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

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Day 10

How to Activate your Faith?

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“ Faith has very little to do with what we can achieve, and all to do with whom we believe. By placing our faith in God and in the truth of His Word, we are victorious according to His perfect Will irrespective of the magnitude or complexity of our situation.

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Unloved. Sick. Broke. Hurt. Discontent. Lonely. Weary. Frustrated. Confused. Cornered. Trapped.

Do these words appear to describe you?

Oftentimes, we can become so absorbed in our circumstances that it can distort our perspective of our identity.

However, the Word of God says that as His children, we are: Loved. Redeemed. Embraced. Healed. Satisfied. Sustained. Delivered. Carried. Strengthened. Free.

You may be thinking: No way! That seems to be so far from my reality.  

But you can choose to make it your reality; and that is by placing your faith in an Almighty Living God.

What is Faith?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).

What or whom we place our confidence in can positively or negatively affect our lives. Some believe in people; others in riches; and others in themselves.

But those who trust in the Lord shall never be put to shame. For God never fails!   

Faith has very little to do with what we can achieve, and all to do with whom we believe. By placing our faith in God and in the truth of His Word, we are victorious according to His perfect Will irrespective of the magnitude or complexity of our situation. Faith helps us to align ourselves with God’s perspective for our lives.

As Jesus proved His love for us and died on the cross for the sins of all humanity, He cried out:

“It is Finished!” Based on the finished work of Jesus, humanity was redeemed from the consequences of sin, and our relationship with our Heavenly Father was re-established under this covenant of grace. Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence (Ephesians 3:11-12). Therefore, we are more than conquerors in all things through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

When we do have a need to bring before God, we can exercise our faith for that particular situation by believing with all our heart that God has already done it for He is faithful to His Word. For example, if we are praying for healing, we must believe that we are already healed just as His Word declares that He heals all our diseases.

Why Does Faith Matter?

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

What is God’s view of faith? Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

When we fix our eyes on God, our faith is an affirmation that we truly believe in who He is as Omnipotent God – the all-powerful One who is able to do anything.

The Lord is pleased with our confident expectation in Him, and Him alone.

How to Develop Faith:

Faith is often compared to a muscle; it needs to be strengthened through exercise. However, faith does not develop through our natural ability. It takes the revelation and grace of God to firmly believe. There is a learning process involved. 

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Here are some basic ways that we can grow in our faith in God:

• Through RelationshipIn Hebrews 12:2a, we learn that Jesus is the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. To confidently place our trust in God, we must continually walk in relationship with Him in prayer.

An intimate relationship with Jesus will give us a fresh revelation of the nature and power of God and our rights as His children. This understanding will empower us to overcome any situation in our lives with God’s help.

• Through The Word of GodFaith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Word of God cultivates our spirit to clearly hear the voice of God. In addition to acquiring knowledge about God, the Bible presents us with many examples of men and women who walked in faith and victoriously conquered their challenges.

Observing how they stepped out in faith and how God responded to them will serve as a constant reminder that with faith, we can indeed move mountains.

• Through PraiseAs mentioned earlier, faith is not only to believe that God is able to do as He has promised, but that He has already completed it. To grow in faith, our heart must be overflowing with praise.

Here is a fundamental difference between thanksgiving and praise:

-       Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude for what God has done, is doing, and is about to do in our lives.

-       Praise is a much deeper level of gratitude that focuses on who God is.

To praise God is to abandon our agenda and attest that we believe in Him alone. When we keep our focus fixed on God, we are magnifying

Him over and above our needs and desires. Jesus said in Mark 9:23: Everything is possible for Him who believes.

To grow in faith, we must learn to live a lifestyle of praise; for praise releases faith.

• Through ObedienceHuman limitation and circumstantial evidence can never stand in the way of God’s ability. Nevertheless, the Lord awaits our obedience and submission to His Will, which involves us taking that first step in faith.

One of the greatest benefits of our challenges is that it enables us to develop our faith. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:3).

As we face obstacles, it is an opportunity for us to trust and believe in God more and more. As tempting as it may be to try to take matters into our own hands, it is essential that we choose to surrender our cares into God’s Hands and keep our focus fixed on Him.

• Through TestimonyIn Revelation 12:11a, we learn that the children of God overcame Satan – the accuser of the brethren – by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

That is how much power our testimonies carry! Sharing all that God has done in our lives not only encourages others in their faith journey (and leaves satan with no argument before the Throne of God). It also reminds us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever!

We serve a Faithful God, who is forever Worthy of our confidence and trust.

Let Faith Rise!

Faith is our response to God. Faith has very little to do with what we can achieve, and all to do with whom we believe.

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Day 11

How to PRAY?

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Hebrews 5:7

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Today’s topic has stemmed from the countless times that I’ve heard people say that they don’t know how to and what to pray for. So, come along with me while we discover the tremendous power in prayer.

Is there a ‘Place of Prayer’?

Jesus spoke over the church one of its strongest promise that it would be built by God and the gates of hell would not prevail.

Yes, there is a blessing in praying in places where the presence of God has visited and blessed often but there is no place where prayer is limited from. Whether it was in the den of the lions or in the dungeons of Egypt or while rowing in the middle of the sea – God always heard the cry of His people.

Is there a Particular Time when a Christian must Pray?

A child of Jesus must have the discipline of setting apart time everyday to seek Him. But we should not limit ourselves to that time alone to have a relationship with God. In fact, we are called to go beyond a set time of prayer in order to have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Here is a simple command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing. God desires that we live in continual, unbroken communion with him. Yes, even while you are in the shower, are driving to somewhere, are in the airport, are at the mall or in the privacy of your bedroom – be in prayer.

Apostle Paul says in Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Devotion certainly means more than just an occasional prayer.

Prayer time is great but a life of prayer is greater!

Is there a Particular Position of Prayer?

One of the most memorable positions of prayer in the Bible is kneeling down. See some of the verses show us this are:

1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Acts 9:40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

Acts 21:5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.

How did Jesus Pray?

Mark 14:35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.

This verse most certainly implies that kneeling down is not the only position of prayer. But one thing is certain that Jesus did not bother that the three disciples that were around him. He did not try to be a dignified man.

The What, Where & How to Pray Effectively

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Jesus not only prayed with his heart but he prayed with all his strength and emotions.

See, Hebrews 5:7 “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Notice that His loud cries and tears were rooted in reverent submission to God.

While we were in Canada, I had the privilege of meeting a man of God named Pastor John Raymer of the Peace Tower Church. In the time that I spent with him and got to know him, I realized that he was a man of tears. He wept. He wept in public and in private.

I’ve always wondered how Jesus could cry and wail in public. I’ve always enjoyed seeking God with tears but I was always embarrassed about it. So I asked Pastor Raymer about his experience. And he said, “Shyju, when you know that God loves a broken and contrite heart, you need to stop being embarrassed about what people think.”Some of us have not yet achieved a real breakthrough in prayer because we are too cute and passive in our prayer life.

What to Pray?

1 Corinthians 14:15 says, “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind;”

Our needs, the needs of those around us and the needs of the world we live in are endless. Our whole life would fall short to pray for all of those needs. Therefore, it is important that we pray according to His will.

Your pressing need should not be the sole motivation in prayer. Let God’s will and desire for us press you into prayer.

Therefore in prayer, seek God’s sovereign will. Think before you pray. Does God want this? The best way to pray is to take the Bible seriously and try to pray it into your life. If you

are struggling for words to pray, place your Bible in front of you and simply read a line and turn that into a prayer.

No matter what you pray, let it be underlined with the prayer like that, “Yet, not my will but yours be done!”

I pray this releases you into an intimate walk with Jesus! He desires that you seek Him continually!

Remember, an unbroken communion is the greatest key to walking with God.

Some Self Study Scriptures:

1 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.

Ephesians 6:18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

1 Timothy 2:8I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Philippians 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

John 15:7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

Hebrews 4:16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Romans 8:26-27Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

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Day 12

What is Worship?

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“ False worshippers tend to worship variable “Created” things while true worshippers worship the un-changeable “Creator” God who doesn’t change with time.

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Worship is something amazing. It is extremely complex and yet so profoundly simple.

There’s a drive on the inside of each one of us to worship something or someone, be it their role models, sports stars or even things like money, food, etc. Look at the number of ‘worship places’ around, or the 1000 mile pilgrimages that people go- – it tells you that something on the inside of us makes us want to worship.

But what actually happens in worship?

Stages of Worship

For the sake of understanding, we can divide the process of worship into seven stages:

1. Seeing 2. Admiring 3. Appreciating 4. Praising 5. Imitating 6. Emulating 7. BecomingThe Bible says in Romans 1: 20 that, since the beginning of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His divine nature and His eternal power have been clearly seen. So we see His invisible attributes and that leads us onto a pathway of worship. So firstly it’s all about seeing.

As you see your object of worship and get drawn to something good in it, you begin to admire your object of worship. As you admire, you appreciate. As you begin to appreciate, you begin to praise your object of worship. When you praise, you’re actually sharing your worship with someone else because you’re telling others as well about this object of worship. Praising your object of worship leads you to want to imitate it. From imitation, it takes you to emulation where you want to do everything you can to be like that. Eventually, as the psalmist says in Psalm 115: 8, “Those who make them (objects of worship) will become like them…” And this applies to anyone – even in the case of a film star or a sports star, the same sequence follows.

Couple of points to remember:

Created to worship

The Bible says in John 4:23, 24: “…the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (ESV)

We were originally created to worship God and find fulfillment in Him. No where else in the Scripture is it mentioned that God is seeking something. That’s because He Himself is self-sufficient. But He is seeking worshippers who will worship Him. He is seeking true worshippers. That means there could be false worshippers as well.

False worshippers tend to worship variable “Created” things while true worshippers worship the un-changeable “Creator” God who doesn’t change with time.Variable things change. Film stars are here today, and gone tomorrow; sports stars are here today, then they are gone; objects of worship are here today, and soon they are gone. Suppose I worship an animal, like a tiger, it is there today and it’ll be gone tomorrow. So these are all variable things. If we worship them, we’ll be let down.

Redeemed to Worship

Throughout the Bible, you will see this one theme that God redeems us with the sole purpose to worship Him. In Exodus 8: 1, God tells Moses to go and tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” That’s so amazing! God, from time to time, sent a deliverer for His people to be freed from slavery that they might worship Him. That’s because we are so bound to worship something! In the process of losing our knowledge of God because of sin, we tend to worship something lesser than God. So God sends a deliverer. In our case, God sent Jesus Christ, who came and redeemed us, so we could now

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understand what worship really is and that now we could worship Creator God once again.

Many people think of worship to be an act. Like, if I go to this particular temple, if I go to this particular sacred river, if I go to this holy place or go to that holy mountain, then I’m worshipping. But Jesus makes it clear when He comes on the scene and when He talks to the Samaritan woman. He tells her that it’s no longer about a place, it’s no longer about a holy mountain, and it’s no longer about a pattern of worship. All of that is broken down. Now the true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23, 24:).

“The temple is no more sacred…Rather; it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit”

So in Jesus, we have actually re-gained our lost purpose of worship. We’ve found it again; we’ve understood it once again. The Bible says in Romans 12:1-3, to offer your body as a living sacrifice is the ultimate way of worshipping God. The temple is no more sacred. There is no holy place that is sacred. Rather, it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit. So when you honour your body, when you honour God with your body, you’re actually worshipping God.

In summation, all of the activities that you do in life are considered as worship before God. Many of us might be still worshipping something lesser than God. So while we have all of these vague ideas of worship, let’s understand one thing. Let’s look to Jesus who came, died for us, to redeem us so we could now worship God. When we discover God, when we see Him more and more, through His word, by His Spirit, then we begin to understand what worship is.

So if I’m to go over that sequence again, when we see how awesome God is, then we begin to admire this wonderful God. When we admire Him, we begin to appreciate Him. When we appreciate Him, it results in praise and we begin to say good things to Him and also tell people about this great God.

When we praise God, we want to be like Him and imitate Him, which is a good thing. When we imitate Him, we begin to emulate Him. In fact we try to be all that we can to be like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we emulate Him, we should rest assured in the Scriptures that one day, we will become like Jesus.

So that just completes this whole beautiful, profound cycle of worship. I guess I’m still just scratching on the surface. There’s so much still to be said about worship. But I think it’s a good place to start. God bless you.

Click here to view and discuss the post online.

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Day 13

How to Read your Bible

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“ When it comes to the Bible, it is very clear that if I choose not to read the Bible, then I choose not to know who my creator is and what I am created for.

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When it comes to reading the Bible, it is very clear that if I choose not to read the Bible, then I choose not to know who my creator is and what I am created for. Now that would be an epic failure!

Here are some ways to help you re-energize your walk with God in taking in His Eternal word.

Depend Completely on the Holy Spirit

It was Mom who first taught me to read the Bible. As some of you know, my preaching ministry began when I was 7 years old. I approached my mom to ask her what I should preach about. She taught me the importance of going to God and asking Him about it instead of man.

She also taught me that every sentence is inspired by the Holy Spirit for a purpose. There is hidden revelation in every verse for our edification, motivation and direction. Now, there is nothing wrong in looking for more understanding with Bible encyclopedias, commentaries, etc., but the more we depend on the Holy Spirit to reveal what He has written, the more we will become captivated by the Word of God. It is only then that the Word will become alive to us in our day to day life.

So if your question is: How do I begin? I would respond that the same way that you would ask me, ask the Holy Spirit. He will provide the inspiration in your heart as you depend on Him with each of those verses.

Where Do I Begin?

If you are a new believer who is trying to understand the Bible, I would say that the best place to start is with your Saviour and Lord Jesus. Although it is true that Jesus can be seen in almost all of the Books of the Bible in

hidden revelations, we can best start with the gospel according to John, the fourth book in the New Testament. And then proceed to the other gospels starting from Matthew, then to Mark and Luke. Next would be Acts, which is the Book about the disciples of Jesus. You can take your study further to the Books after Acts; to learn how the Church must prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

Is there a commandment that I need to obey? Is there a valuable principal here that I can learn? Is this verse speaking into my life right now? How can I apply it in my everyday life? Is there a prayer I can say?

Write the answers to these questions in your notebook and you will soon build up a treasure house of scriptural knowledge. It is important to pray as you read the Bible. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer; just something along the lines of: “Dear God, show me what this means and help me to obey.”

Read Cover to Cover

There are many ‘Bible Reading Plans’ available to complete your Bible study in a year. Here is couple of them (you may need to register first):

Biblia.com http://biblia.com/

You Version - http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans

Bible Gateway - http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

Apart from that, I would suggest that you do more than just reading based on given direction. And oh, I love underlining, circling around the words that speak to me; it just makes it so personal!

How to Read your Bible?And what matters the most.

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Going Deeper

You could also developed a pattern of reading one chapter from the 5 Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy); one chapter from the prophetic Books (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, etc.); one chapter or two from the Book of Psalms; one chapter from Proverbs; and one chapter from the Gospels, and another from the Epistles.

So, in short, each day you get a comprehensive view of the Bible and not just one portion of it.

Sometimes you may end up reading more than just one chapter. Remember to let the Holy Spirit lead you. Different Books in the Bible teach you different things.

Take for an example – mainly in Psalms – you learn more about God. In Proverbs, you learn more about people and many wise things. In the gospels, you discover more about Jesus, etc. So to have a wider perspective of the Word in a day really helps us to go deeper in the Lord.

How Often?

Although it is good discipline to have a set timetable for your Bible study, I would suggest that you take it beyond your timetable. Carry your Bible to work or even school.

It is not about how many chapters you cover in a day; it is about how many chapters have gone into your heart. That means sometimes I’ve been stuck with a few verses for days!

Read it over and over and enjoy new revelations from the Holy Spirit. Literally soaking in the Word of God.

Caution in Using Resources

At this point, we must be careful that we do not overdo reading commentaries or articles. Let’s face it, as much as there are really good ones,

they are all still man’s understanding of the Word of God. So, what better place to be than on your knees with the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God through these Bible authors!

There are resources that can be of great help to you as you study the Word. Ask your leader about theologically-sound resources that will be best for your level of understanding as there are many confusing commentaries out there as well.

There are many great online resources; but there is nothing like sticking with the Bible and being on your knees in prayer with the Word; that is the greatest place to be.

WHAT really MATTERS:

Perspective Matters

How you approach the Bible is important. Those who see the Bible as a helpful tool will have a tendency to view verses that are more enlightening when going through a relevant situation. For me, I enjoy more prayer and intimacy so I end up seeing everything through that inspiration. I understand that it is not very easy, but try to keep a neutral heart for the Holy Spirit to throw light on anything He wants. There are all kinds of revelations that the Holy Spirit can fill you with from each of those verses. Now don’t get me wrong, it is great to have the Holy Spirit speak into our circumstances. Yet, keep your heart open to any new revelations that the Holy Spirit may reveal concerning your future than just your past or present.

Passion Matters

Like I said earlier, it is not about how many chapters you complete, but about whether your heart is in it. I have known of some who rush through their Bible before they go to the college or before they hit the bed as if it is a custom or ritual. It seems like they feel more accountable to their parents or pastors more than God.

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Put your heart into reading the Word. There will be times that as you read the Word, a verse captures your attention. One verse may have a stronger pull or stand out of The Book.

Stay on that verse. Ask the Holy Spirit for more revelation on it. Re-read it. Meditate on it. Pray over it. You will be surprised at how much you can learn from it the more you remain focused on it with the Holy Spirit.

Persistence Matters

The problem with people like me who are not great, voracious readers makes it difficult for reading to become a regular pattern. But the fact about the importance of knowing more about God and what God wants to know about us on a daily basis should help us focus on it every day. Like I said before, carry your Bible everywhere so that you can read it bit by bit at every opportunity so that it becomes a part of your life.

Prayer Matters

Finally, – PRAYER MATTERS.

Bible reading alone will not get you anywhere. You need to spend time seeking God based on the Word that you have meditated on. It is prayer that empowers you to live the Word of God in its fullness. Bible reading without prayer is like having food without water.

Let the Word of God become a part of you. Read till the Word of God becomes the database for your personal opinion. Read till you hear the Masters voice clearly through the Word.

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Day 14

Can we Trust the Bible?

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“ More than the power and life that is in the words of the Bible, there are actual facts that go alongside the truth of the infallible Word of God.

Qumram Caves where the dead sea scrolls were discovered.

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It is important that we also study the facts of how this Bible came about.

We live in a world that is leaning more and more towards transparency; a world in seek of valid reasoning to believe in something or someone.

And certainly whether the Bible is true has been a long-debated, time-tested and proved question. But what pushes me to throw some light on this topic is that our generation is still asking this question.

Is the Bible just another book? Why does the Bible stand out compared to many other writings that have entered this world?

More than the power and life that is in the words of the Bible, there are actual facts that go alongside the truth of the infallible Word of God.

Here are the facts:

1. Distinctively Unique Structure

The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by over 40 different men (from common people to kings), over a period of 2,000 years, woven throughout with striking unity, clarity and continuity. Four hundred years separate the 39 books of the Old Testament from the 27 of the New Testament. Yet, from Genesis to Revelation, they unfold the common theme of man’s redemption through God’s only son, Jesus Christ.

2. Proof of Textual Evidence

The Bible has over 24,000 ancient handwritten manuscripts discovered so far. Also the discovery of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls is a solid evidence of the Old Testament. These documents came from the “library” of a settlement founded at Qumran before 150 B.C.

and abandoned about 68 A.D. The earliest New Testament manuscripts date from the second century (100-199) AD. These discredit the claims of those who believed that the original Bible had been lost to time, and tampering.

3. Scientific Accuracy

We live in a world where everything seems to revolve around science. Interestingly, the Bible confirms many facts way long before scientists confirmed them experimentally. Of course, the terms used were not scientific jargon but in terms which a common man could understand.

For instance: the roundness of the earth was mentioned in Isaiah 40:22; the importance of blood and life in blood in Leviticus 17:11; the vast number of stars in Jeremiah 33:22;  hydrologic cycle in Ecclesiastes 1:7; atmospheric circulation in Ecclesiastes 1:6; Earth’s gravitational field in Job 26:7 and many others.

4. Historical & Geographical Accuracy

Right through the ages, many have doubted the historical and geographical accuracy of the Bible. Yet modern archaeologists have repeatedly unearthed evidence of people, places, and cultures described in the Scriptures.

Time after time, the descriptions in the biblical record have been shown to be more reliable than the speculations of scholars. The modern visitor to the museums and lands of the Bible cannot help but come away impressed with the real geographical and historical backdrop of the biblical text.

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5. Never Out-of-date. Never Revised

Written centuries ago, the Bible remains the most up-to-date book available today. Books on every subject have had to be replaced because they render themselves obsolete so quickly. But the Bible has NEVER had to be revised. Only translations of the Bible from the original languages have been revised to reflect current language usage.

The Bible has been the best-selling book because it universally speaks to the heart of people, and gives them the message of God. No other book has been so consistently bought, studied, and quoted as this book. While millions of other titles come and go, the Bible is still the book by which all other books are measured.

6. Fulfilled prophesies

Fulfilled prophecy is proof of the Bible’s divine inspiration. Events spoken of in the Bible have come to pass, in the present day. From the days of Moses, the Bible predicted events no-one wanted to believe.

Before Israel went into the Promised Land, Moses predicted that Israel would be unfaithful, that she would lose the land God was giving her, and that she would be dispersed throughout the world, re-gathered, and then re-established.

Central to Old Testament prophecy was the promise of a Messiah who would save God’s people from their sins and eventually bring judgment and peace to the whole world. No other ancient sacred book even dares to deal with predictive prophecy – making the Bible unique.

7. Power to Change Lives

The Bible, as the word of God, has the power to transform and revive lives. History is marked by those who have been transformed by this living book. The Ten Commandments have been a source of moral direction to countless numbers of people. The Psalms of David have offered comfort in times of trouble and loss. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has given millions an antidote for stubborn pride and proud legalism.

The changed lives of people like the apostles Paul, and even people in the world we know, Martin Luther, John Newton, Leo Tolstoy, and C. S. Lewis illustrate the difference the Bible can make. Even entire nations or tribes, like the Celts of Ireland, the wild Vikings of Norway, or the Auca Indians of Ecuador have been transformed by the Word of God and the unprecedented life and significance of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a verse for us to ponder from, Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

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Day 15

Understanding Christian History

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“ Those who persecuted them could separate the Christians and scatter them out of one Church but they could not separate Christ from out of the Christians’ hearts!

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Christianity is the largest religion in the world with about 2.2 billion followers. Today, one quarter of the population of the entire world are Christians; it is the state religion in several countries, but what is it about Christianity that makes it so special? Why do 1 out of every 3 people living on planet earth claim to follow this belief system?

The answer lies in two important reasons. One reason is a historical/political one while the other is a spiritual one.  When we study history, we will understand that certain political regimes helped bring Christianity to the forefront and caused its spread on a national and global scale. History teaches us that several religions have been spread by the use of political force; however, they are by no means as popular as Christianity.

History also bears witness to the fact that Christianity wasn’t always so popular; over the ages people and nations have rejected it, waged war against it and resolved to wipe it off the face of the earth. Nevertheless, ever since its humble inception in the obscure villages of the Judean countryside, no human or demonic power has been able to destroy it or stunt its growth by any means.  It has always flourished and bloomed in every corner of the globe it has been taken to regardless of how it was initially received there. This brings us to the second reason. There has to have been an invisible supernatural force propagating and advancing it through the centuries. Let’s trace through this very interesting journey that Christianity has travelled on, through the centuries.

Why is It Important to Study History?

You may think to yourself that studying history is irrelevant to us or even ‘unspiritual’. However the reason why every Christian should know this history is because, Christianity, unlike any other religion, is deeply rooted in history. The

fact that God came to earth as a man – Jesus Christ, is central to Christianity. He lived, loved and taught amongst humans over 2000 years ago. The historical reality of Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross, His burial and glorious resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christianity. They are facts that history cannot deny. The Holy Bible is not a book written based on fairy tales or man’s imagination; it is a divinely inspired historical record of God’s plan of redemption for the world.

In I Corinthians 10:1-13, the apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to learn from the examples of Israel’s past, and learn from their mistakes. Similarly, we can learn from the history of Christianity today. In today’s world we often find new and bizarre practices and doctrine appearing everywhere and even claim to be a part of Christianity. This is nothing new. History is filled with examples of times when heresies and false teachings tried to infiltrate the church and destroy the sanctity of Christianity. Learning Christian doctrine with an understanding of Christian history will help us separate fiction from facts and give us good appreciation of sound doctrine.

Christianity’s Origin and Rise

The first chapter in the two thousand year long story of Christian history is the glorious century that began with the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Most of the events that took place during this century have been meticulously recorded in the book of Acts by Dr. Luke (the Gospel writer). Just as the book of Acts records, the Christian Church was born on the day of Pentecost as three thousand people were saved and added to the Church. Soon five thousand more people were saved and added to the Church. As we continue reading, we find that the church continued to grow rapidly. God was doing some amazing things in and through the Church.

Understanding Christian HistoryWhere did Christianity root from?

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Things however, didn’t remain so rosy for too much longer. Satan soon began to stir up trouble for the first believers in very much the same way he does today. The early church faced a lot of trouble, but God was with them and in them! God was building His church (Matthew 16:18) and just as He had promised, not even men or demons or Satan himself could stop what God was doing!

Persecution in the Church however intensified to the point where they killed Christians. Stephen was the first Christian who died for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a terrible, yet glorious way to die. As we read on in the book of Acts, we see that following the death of Stephen, trouble against the Church began to severely intensify. Up until now, we learned that the Church is Jerusalem faced problems, which the enemy stirred up against it, in order to destroy it.

Now however, the word ‘trouble’ isn’t sufficient to describe what the believers faced; these faithful followers of Jesus faced persecution. There came a point when it was no longer safe for them to remain in Jerusalem because their men and women were being thrown into prison.

Christianity is Persecuted, Yet Spreads

The Church in Jerusalem was therefore scattered and demolished. The once amazing and beautifully growing Church in Jerusalem, now laid ruined because after all the Church, we know is the people; since the people had fled the city, the Church became empty!

Scholars say that there had been approximately eight to ten thousand believers at the Church in Jerusalem at that time. The pastoral team (consisting of the apostles and designated leaders) of the Church had worked very hard, preaching the gospel in spite of threats, imprisonment and even martyrdom; now however, it seemed as if all their labour had been in vain and their beloved Church had been reduced to rubble. Satan must have been rejoicing, thinking that his plan to destroy the

Church had succeeded. The Lord however, was still very much in control; He had an amazing plan for the Church in the midst of all of their suffering. Even though the Lord never brings suffering to His children, if He allows it in their lives, it always has a purpose. What Satan meant for evil, God turned it around for good (Genesis 50:20).

The Bible tells us in Acts 8:4, ‘Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.’

As they carried whatever little belongings they had gathered together on their hurried escape from their homes, they did exactly what caused them to lose their homes and lands!  The devil was again the loser here because even becoming refugees could not shut them up. So everywhere they went throughout Judea and Samaria, all the believers took the gospel with them and preached it. They had been effective witnesses in Jerusalem all this while, and it was time for God to fulfill the next step of His plan through their lives.

Sure, the Church in Jerusalem looked very good with nearly ten thousand amazing believers all together worshipping Him as one; but God was interested in His precious gospel spreading to the four corners of the globe so He allowed them to be scattered.

The seed of the gospel planted on the day of Pentecost had grown beautifully into a large tree bearing ten thousand fragrant fruits; however, it was now time for each of those fruits to scatter its seeds to the farthest ends of the earth so that more beautiful trees would spread the fragrance of Christ. 

Those who persecuted them could separate the Christians and scatter them out of one Church but they could not separate Christ from out of the Christians’ hearts!

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The Roman Anger

As they saw Christians growing in spite of persecution, the Roman government was angered. In the first 250 years of the church, the Romans put hundreds of Christians to death. Some were even fed to the lions in Roman colosseum as spectators watched (much the same as people go to watch football games today for entertainment). History tells us that Peter was crucified upside down for the Lord. Many others were split in half by being tied to horses, which then galloped in opposite directions, tearing them apart; while still others were dipped into giant vats of boiling oil. In the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian, coins were released bearing the imprint “The Christians are completely destroyed, the worship of our gods has been renewed.” He built a monument in memory of the “destruction of Christianity”.

The Church and the State

It wasn’t long before they realized that the Church could not be suppressed. No matter how intense the persecution became, the growth of the Church and the Christians did not stop. At end of the persecution, it has been calculated that there were approximately 120 million people living in the Roman empire. It is believed that half the population was Christian (60 million). The enemy realized that he could not destroy the church by simply persecuting it.  He came up with a far more crafty and cunning way to carry out his plans. He used Christians to destroy Christians. Constantine, the great Roman emperor was amazed by the steadfastness and truthfulness of the Christians. One day he saw a shinning cross in his dream with a voice saying, ‘receive victory through the symbol’. He implemented this and was victorious therefore he became a Christian. He proclaimed himself to be the custodian of the Christian religion.

In 324 AD, he combined the church and state. He granted several privileges to the churches and to Christians. Large sums of money from

the empire’s treasury were given to pastors to build their Churches. Elders of the church were given exorbitant, building called ‘basilicas’. Ceremonies for religious conversion were carried out.

The persecution of Christians finally stopped. It became a great privilege to be a Christian. Scores of people became Christians in order to receive government benefits and privileges. People became pastors and leaders in order to receive a better life style and more money. Even though Christianity began spreading the world over, the church started to lose its holiness a little by little. People who had not repented or truly accepted Christ started to fill the pews of the Church, while those who were not truly called by Christ became preachers and pastors and filled the pulpits. Everyone chose Christianity for other reasons.

Therefore, the power of the Holy Spirit declined and money increased in power. Preaching from the pulpit became a mere show of oratory skills. The Word of God was forgotten and churches were filled with unrepentant people. The government met all of the Church’s needs. Many temples to pagan gods were converted into Churches. In order to bring people from foreign religions to church, they started adapting pagan practices into the church.

Foolish rituals from these pagan religions became sacred ceremonies within the church. The foundational truths of the Bible were no longer being preached. Therefore, no one was able to differentiate the true foundational Christian doctrine and false teaching against the fundamentals of Christianity. The church of Jesus Christ was pushed to state where they practiced all the practices of the foreign pagan religions. When the hundreds of people started entering the church, they brought their Babylonian rituals into the church. Church leaders were eager to incorporate foreign and pagan practices into sacred church ceremony just to bring new people to church.

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As we keep go through history, we see that during the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized. Christians also soon became a large religious minority in the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia and parts of India. Following this, through missionary work and colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world. Missionary work had a huge impact in making Christianity so prevalent. Spreading the word of the Lord was considered both an honour and a duty; history is overflowing with the names of Christian missionaries and evangelists who travelled the world, sacrificing their lives to convert people to the way of the living God.

Conclusion

The story of Christianity is very exciting to study but what makes it special is this: it is much more than a religion; it is a relationship, a way of life and a commitment. It is the only religion that is based on your personal relationship with God (through Jesus). Many factors contributed to the rise of Christianity. No one factor can be said to be the reason for Christianity’s overwhelming success.

However, through everything, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit helped spread Christianity into places where other religions faded away. Heaven and earth will pass away but Christianity, founded on the life-giving words of Jesus Christ will endure forever. We have a choice, we can either be inspired by the story of Christianity and be inspired to further the Gospel realizing that victory will be ours; or we can shrink back into our complacency and fear a lead nominal Christian lives. Whatever we choose, one thing is a fact: The kingdom of our God will be established on this earth and those who served Him faithfully will be given their fair reward.

A Simple Timeline of Christian HistoryChristian history isn’t very simple, it is very intricate and complex; therefore for everyone’s benefit let’s go through the following simplified timeline:

30-70 AD – The Time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles

• The death and resurrection of Christ.• The Christian faith is birthed and the gospel of

grace is preached.

70-312 AD – The Persecution and Spread of Christianity

• The spread of the Christian faith; martyrdom of the early believers.

• Early heresies sprouted; first church councils and the canonizing of scripture.

312-590 AD – The Era of the Christian Empire

• Constantine declares Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire;

• Christianity became a faith for the masses;

590-1517 AD – The Middle Ages

• The pope becomes the ‘ruler’ of the church.• The crusades: The church gains the world but

loses its soul.

 1517-1648 AD – The Age of Reformation

• Martin Luther, protestant movement; start of denominationalism (Lutheran, Anglican etc.)

• The Vatican loses its power and influence.

1648-1789 AD – The Time of Scientific Advance and Revival

• On one hand, rise of secularism: people begin to ask, ‘Who needs God?’

• Many revivals, especially the ‘Great Awakening’ tries to restore God to public life.

 1789-1914 AD – The Age of Progress

• The message of Christ is carried to distant lands, but the faith continues to leave public life.

• Pluralistic and totalitarian societies see no relevance for Christianity.

 1912-current AD – The present Church..!

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Day 16

How to Know The Will of God?

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“ The sovereign Will of God is in control of all things. It cannot be cancelled and it will come to pass.

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“How do we know what the will of God for our life is?” I’m glad we are able to study this subject.

To fully understand this, I’d like to start by explaining the two kinds of the Will of God.

God used Jonathan Edwards, a pastor and a profound theologian in New England in the early 1700s to discover these truths. For a comparatively simpler read, try and get the book ‘Desiring God,’ a book by John Piper where he clearly explains these magnificent truths in detail. (If you are interested, you can download the PDF of the same at the bottom of this post)

The Sovereign Will of God

There are instances that occur under God’s sovereign plans like the crucifixion of Jesus. Even though crucifying Jesus was an act of sin, it was predestined by God. In Acts 4: 27-28, it says “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”  Also seen in the fact that the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)

Another example is God allowing persecution. In 1 Peter 3:17, Peter talks about suffering for doing good, if that should be God’s will. Another verse to explain this is, “He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” Daniel 4:35.

The sovereign Will of God is in control of all things. It cannot be cancelled and it will come to pass.

The Will of God’s Commandment

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven“. This will of God is based on the obedience of the Word of God.

And throughout the Bible you will see God’s giving specific commandment to His children. Examples: Loving your neighbor as yourself – Mark 12:33, Loving God with all your heart, soul and mind – Matthew 22:37, Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you – 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In another verse, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

Thankful hearts, rejoicing in God, holiness, fleeing from sin, purity, etc. are God’s commanded will for us. And unlike the sovereign will of God, which cannot be broken, not many obey the will of God’s command.

God’s Sovereign Will must always come to pass whether we believe in it or not. His Will of Command can be broken and sadly, it is broken every day. The Bible says that as long as we love Him and are called according to His purpose, he turns all things for our good (Romans 8:28). This is the reason why we as His children and disciples have hope in our sufferings.

How Do We Really Know His Will?

That being said, how do we know specifically what exactly is the will of God in each situation?

One of the most powerful scriptures in the Bible and a clear direction to our questions is found in Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

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The first thing Apostle Paul talks about in this verse is that we need to have a renewed mind to understand the things of God. For this you have to test it in line to the Word of God. The Word of God is the supreme authority for every work. (2 Timothy 3:16) The verse also implies that when you are renewed in your mind and in line with the word of God, you will discern what the will of God is in a particular situation.

We get many emails to our ministry asking for specific prophetic word on whether to get married to a particular person or not. Whether God can reveal it? Yes, God can. However, we need not pursue prophets for knowing the future but the scripture calls us to be transformed by the renewal of our mind.

Bible Application

The word of God, the Bible, is the revealed will of God. Sadly, in today’s Christian culture, we have too many people listening to too many voices. I want to strongly make this statement that, “There are no prophets (or prophetesses), prophecies, visions or dreams that is above the Word of God.”

No matter how anointed you are, no matter how audible the voice you heard, you cannot go against the Word of God. The Lord desires that we be transformed by the Word of God and not by voices we hear around us. This happens when we as children of God devote ourselves to reading, loving and mediating on the Word of God. Hebrews 5:14

Start by understanding that you cannot do it on your own and that you need the Holy Spirit that will lead you through the Scriptures. Through that time of soaking yourself in God your actions and thoughts will be in line with the plan and will of God for your life.

[You can download Desiring God book HERE (1.3mb, PDF format)]

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Day 17

5 Ways to Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit

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“ We must take time few hours in every day, few minutes in every hour, and few seconds from every minute to withdraw from the world around us to seek His face.

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God gives special powers for His children, when they face extraordinary challenges in living the life of a believer, and in the process of witnessing the Gospel of Jesus.

Before His ascension, Jesus tells His disciples to wait on Him to receive power before going out to witness about Him.

Luke 24:49 , “You are witnesses . . . but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:8, “And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

A child of God needs the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously. The power of God is vital for the challenges that we face when we spread the gospel of Jesus. And, certainly this power that Jesus speaks about is not a one-time phenomenon. In fact, the Bible talks about how the disciples repeatedly sought God from time to time for refreshing.

Acts 2:4  That they were “filled with the Holy Spirit.” And after receiving this power, they came back to God for a refreshing against the new threats that they were facing.

Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” See more about that here.

And not only the book of Acts, the epistles of Paul talk of this same extraordinary power available to a child of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:14–21

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in

the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Now that we know we need the power of the Holy Spirit, here are five ways to receive it:

1. Consume the Word of God

God equips you with His power to enable you to proclaim His word successfully. Therefore, it is important that one must soak himself in His Word, which is life in itself. John 6:63 Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.” The Bible is the Word of God and when you read it, you are reading the life-giving power of the Spirit. By soaking in God’s word, we activate our faith that helps us walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. Pursue God’s Face

We need to seek the face of God diligently and pursue His presence relentlessly. The more we wait on God, the more we renew power to walk this life in the Spirit. Acts 1:13 “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer.” It was only when the disciples devoted themselves to prayer in Jerusalem during the ten days of waiting in the Upper Room that the power of the Holy Spirit fell on them.

We must take time few hours in every day, few minutes in every hour, and few seconds from every minute to withdraw from the world around us to seek His face. Bible says

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Jesus came with full of power after His 40 days of fasting. Extended fasting and prayer with undivided devotion is certainly a key to receiving God’s power. (See more on fasting here.)

Those times that we seek God should be a time of surrendering and learning to yield to the plans and purposes of the Holy Spirit.

3. Believe the Promise in the Word of God

Galatians 3:5 Paul says, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?““It is impossible to please God without faith.” (Hebrews 11:6).

We cannot walk in the power of the Holy Spirit if we do not walk by faith. We need to develop a child like faith to walk in the power of God.

Luke 11:13 Jesus says to his disciples, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Start by asking today! Ask God to increase your faith. The Lord desires to fill you with His power.

4. Abide in Him

Here’s an important phase that we tend to forget. It is not enough that you receive God’s power once. We need to continue to dwell in Him. You need to take time to study the Word and abide in it. John 14 is a chapter that you should take extended time to meditate, pray and believe.

John 14: 12- 23 explains how obeying God and keeping His commandments is essential to having a life filled with God’s power. It is that

unadulterated life that has access to God’s power.

Jesus says in John 15: 4,5  “4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.“

5. Love One Another

No I did not get it wrong. If you go on reading that verse you will see Jesus gives the commandment, John 15: 12, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” It is interesting how then Jesus goes on talking about bearing fruit in verse 16 and then comes back to talking about loving one another in verse 17.

Towards the end of the ministry of Jesus, He took much efforts talking to them about loving each other and even showing them service by washing their feet.

In other words, Jesus does not want us to simply walk in His power but want us to walk in His love. Truth is walking in His love is to walk in His power! If we are mightily used by God and do not love one another, the fruits that we bear are sour and do not glorify God wholesomely!

Therefore my friends, let us immerse our self in His word and put to death every unbelief and commit ourselves to fast and pray for His power to manifest through our lives. Continue pursuing God every single day of our lives. Live to make His name renown!

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Day 18Gifts of the Holy Spirit

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“ The gift of the Holy Spirit is a supernatural ability given to an ordinary human being through the infilling and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill his/her functionality for the purposes in the Kingdom of God.

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‘Gifts of the Holy Spirit’ is one of the highly debated issues in the Christian world today.

However how much ever one may argue or debate, let us understand the truth that the God of the Bible is still the Lord of the universe and the Jesus of the apostles is still the Lord over the church, and the Spirit that equipped and empowered the Apostles still equips and empowers those that surrender to Him.

And like Paul said our preaching should not just be a use of plausible word of wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Cor 2:4). That is why the devil fights the use of these gifts inside the church and outside.

What is a Gift of the Holy Spirit?

The gift of the Holy Spirit is a supernatural ability given to an ordinary human being through the infilling and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill his/her functionality for the purposes in the Kingdom of God.

Paul explains it very beautifully in 1 Cor 12, where he mentions how a person with these gifts are like different parts of the body that have different functions but all are part of the same body–the Church and empowered by the same agent–the Holy Spirit and serving the same Lord Jesus who is the head of the Church.

Gifts Not Talents

Many a time we confuse between our God-given talents and the Spirit empowered gifts. God has blessed us with many natural abilities and resources like singing or organizing or networking or a great intelligence which are talents and He expects us to be good stewards of these talents as mentioned in Matthew 25:14-30.

Gifts of God are supernatural and are much above and greater than our natural capabilities. You could discover a talent at anytime during your life, but you receive a gift through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Gifts vs Fruits

This has been the greatest challenge with many ministers and churches alike. There are many who focus on gifts and thus ignore the fruits that fuel and sustain the character of the minister and the ministry.

And then there are others who emphasize on the fruits and completely ignore the importance of the use of gifts which is equally foolish. What is the use of a very healthy body that doesn’t talk, walk or work? That’s the state of a church that ignores gifts. You know the tree by its fruits, but it is the gifts that keep edifying the church and pushing into forward direction.

The Purpose of the Gifts

Why do we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit? While some of the gifts are for the edification of an individual believer or a church as a whole, others are a sign for the unbelievers that God is alive and present in that place. (1 Cor 12:7, 1 Cor 14:22-24).

However none of these gifts are for personal gains or marketing purposes. That is the abuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Please understand that the gifts of God are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29) Even if you abuse the gift, God might not necessarily take away the gift, but it could cost us our destiny in God like Moses couldn’t lead the people into Canaan. Hence we ought to be extremely careful as to how to, and where to use these gifts.

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Here, are few of gifts of the Holy Spirit that are mentioned in different places in scripture. Each of the gift is very essential and integral part of the church. In fact some of the gifts are a full time calling of some ministers, this we will discuss later in detail in, “The Five Offices of the Church”.

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“All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Cor 12:11)

In conclusion, it is not really enough that we be baptized by the Holy Spirit, but it is essential that we be endowed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we can be of benefit to the body of Christ. Let us earnestly desire for these gifts and its your hunger that the Lord will fill.

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Day 19

All You Need to Know About Speaking in Tongues

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“ For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God: for no man understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

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Before we look at how to receive the gift of speaking in tongues, allow me to quickly take you through what speaking in tongues – otherwise known as “the unknown tongues” - means.

The promise of our Lord to His disciples – They shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17) – was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when cloven tongues-like fire rested upon the disciples, and “every man heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:1-12).

This is the first recorded instance of speaking in tongues when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).

The gift of tongues that came with an ecstatic burst of worship is definitely understood to be a fulfillment of the prophetic Word of Joel 2:28 which says: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

Has Speaking in Tongues Ceased?

One of the most contentious debates today is whether speaking in tongues has ceased. On the contrary, the Lord told the disciples that they shall speak with new tongues.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17).And from the epistles of St. Paul, it is evident that this prophecy does not refer to Acts 2 alone. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:10 that in the apostolic Church, spiritual gifts included that of tongues:

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues  (1 Cor. 12:10).

Different Tongues

1 Corinthians 12:10 clearly states that there are different kinds of tongues as well as the interpretation of tongues. This explains how visitors from various countries were able to recognize the tongues that were spoken; as recorded in Acts 2.

So it is possible that some tongues may be a language from another continent, or it could be an unknown language that only God can understand. At times – depending on the need – the Holy Spirit allows people to interpret it as a word of encouragement or prophetic direction.

Can I speak in Tongues in Public?

This argument comes from the Apostle Paul’s perspective. He suggests that those who speak in tongues should pray that he may interpret it so that people might understand what is spoken (1 Cor. 14:13). Notice that he says: Pray that he may interpret it.

And if he could not do this, he would not excel in his gift to the edification of the church. This is essential so that there may be order in the service and that it does not cause unnecessary commotion with people trying to speak in tongues when the ministry of the Word is happening.

However, that does not nullify the fact that in speaking in tongues, he edifies himself (1 Cor. 14:4). The same Paul goes on to clarify and say in 1 Corinthians 14:18: I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

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How Does God Move Through the Gift of Speaking in Tongues?

1. We just read in 1 Cor. 14:4 that speaking in tongues edifies one’s spirit man. The Holy Spirit grants the gift of speaking in tongues to educate, empower and enlighten our walk with Jesus.2. Mark 16:17 states that speaking in other tongues is supposed to be a sign of those who believe. I can’t find a greater reason to speak in tongues than in knowing the fact that Jesus gave that as a gift to those who believe.3. When you believe in Jesus and accept Him, He wants to fill you with the heavenly language of Heaven.4. Acts 2:4 refers to the Spirit giving utterance. Paul also mentions how he prays in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit uses the gift of tongues to pray through you. For instance, to warn about dangers that lie ahead, what to avoid, and all kinds of issues that our eyes, ears and hearts do not perceive. These are some of the types of prayers that the Holy Spirit says through us when we speak in tongues.5. You are declaring the unknown into the Spirit realm. 1 Corinthians 14:2: For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God: for no man understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. Sometimes we don’t need to understand everything God is doing but when we pray in the Spirit, we are declaring the mysteries of God.How to Receive the Gift of Tongues?

Now, it is very clear in the Bible that it is the Spirit that gives you utterance. In others words, it is not something you can make up.

Here are some practical steps that can help you in receiving the gift of tongues:

1. Obedience to God. Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).

2. Ask! Tongues belong to those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Yes, it starts by being hungry for God. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13).

3. Stop thinking about what to say. One of the greatest hindrances to the operation of this gift happens when the person wishing to speak in tongues keeps on wondering what to say. I have noticed that people who use a lot of thinking to comprehend tongues find it harder to receive it. You need to stop thinking, pondering and planning; and simply believe that you will open your mouth and the Holy Spirit will fill it.

4. It comes from within. What many people don’t realize is that the Holy Spirit gives them the speaking utterance from within them. You may or not feel anything in your body, but it flows from within your belly. It’s simple: 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? So it is not something that comes from around you or above you. When you have Jesus inside you, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and you need to let it overflow from within you.

5. Believe. Remember Jesus said this is for those who believe. It is good if someone can pray for you but no one needs to lay hands. You will receive it if you believe it. So why don’t you ask the Lord and begin to allow the Holy Spirit to give you the utterance from within you right now!

6. Let go! Some get the first words easily, and then they start to ponder and wonder if it is really from God or if they are making it up; which hinders them from receiving the overflow. It can be normal for you to wonder what you are saying, but do not let that stop you from speaking it. Continue speaking by faith and it will overflow.

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7. Practice it. Just like any language, you will need to speak it often. You may not lose the language, but it is possible for you to lose the confidence to speak it. While traveling; when you wake up; whenever possible; make it a practice to speak in tongues.

If you have already asked the Holy Spirit for tongues, allow me to pray for you to be filled with the gift of speaking in tongues now. If you believe, you can receive this as you pray with us wherever you are:

Dear Father,

I pray with this reader who is believing to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your Word says that You desire to fill them more than their desire to be filled. Thank You because there are no barriers to receiving the blessings of God. And I pray right now, in the Name of Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive the gift of speaking in tongues right now.

Be loosed in Jesus’ Name! Be fruitful and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit; in Jesus’ Name! Thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer.

In the Name of Jesus we pray,Amen!

Now, continue to yield yourself unto the Holy Spirit to grow in this gift. There’s more to come!

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Day 20

Red Hot Temptation!

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“ God does not tempt anyone! But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

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The good news is that, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

James 1:12 says that, “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. 16Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Verse 13 tells us that, “God does not tempt anyone! But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” In other words, don’t be a Christian who, whenever he encounters a bad situation will either blame it on God or the devil. James is trying to convey to us that there is some evil in us that manifests from our fleshly nature. That is the reason why you never have to teach children to lie or steal. It’s already in them. According to the book of James, the source or the genesis of temptation is evil desire! If we can tackle the root cause with the help of the Holy Spirit then we will get closer to our victory! Nip it off in the bud!

So then how is a desire formed? A desire is formed through our senses. If I was blind and had never seen the colour red, how could I desire for the colour red? If I was a deaf man who had never heard a single musical note before, would it be possible that I would desire to listen to music? What we feed our mind through our senses is what births in us a desire for the same.

Here’s how we can deal with temptation:

Guard Your Senses

If there is something that you are struggling with, (be it smoking, pornography, foul language, alcoholism, video games, physical/emotional relationship outside of the will of God), make a check list determining where are the sources to that sin that you have access to. Could it be bad company? Or is it too much TV, wrong books, being in the wrong social set-up?

Find it, and shut it off without mercy! Notice that in verse 14, James talks about evil desires saying that they first draw you away and then enticed. The words “draw away” to me seem like a process.

Humanly, it’s not possible that we won’t have to face challenges when on earth. But from the point of initial contact with temptation, you have to be careful to resist because if you allow it to linger even a little longer then before you know it, the temptation would have caught you by the collar and you would be on your way being dragged into its pit!

Resist temptation and flee from evil. Sound familiar? Do you flee or just hang around temptation?

Acknowledge and Confess

Acknowledge your weakness and confess it quickly and continuously. Don’t allow guilt to question your relationship with God. Remember that as long as we are on this earth, we are going to face continuous battles against this flesh. Therefore, it is important that you, on a daily basis, wash yourself with the blood of Jesus.

If you are questioning whether God would be tired forgiving you, then the answer is NO! This is the greatest lie of the enemy. Don’t let him

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fool you into thinking God has run out of forgiveness for you. Get up and keep running till you don’t fall anymore! When God sees that you do not take His grace for granted and that you are earnestly seeking His help then God will help you and rescue you!

Battle It in the Spirit

Most of the times, the temptation is brought by an evil spirit. But that in no way implies that you can blame the devil and do nothing about it like mentioned earlier. Even Jesus prayed, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from all evil! This is a clear direction from the Spirit that every believer must put on the spiritual amour and engage in spiritual battle against those areas of your weakness. The spiritual battle includes not just prayer but also confession of the word of God and your status in Christ which the devil hates to hear!

Verse 15 paints us a picture of the vicious cycle of sin. Desire conceives sin. Now if a desire is formed in the mind and lingers long enough, it then becomes a disease of the heart. Before you know it, you are bound to it. It starts off as a passing thought and then if you allow it to stay longer it’ll argue over your consciousness or the conviction placed by the Spirit.

Many a times we allow ourselves to debate with sin. Mostly the wicked one that visited our ancestor Eve comes to us trying to tell us about how this is a small risk or that it is not going to hurt anybody.

Remember, we are not called to debate with sin; we are warned to flee from sin. But for those of us who try debating with sin, we mostly end up giving birth to sin! And now when sin stays, it gives birth to death!

What we must do in the face of temptation is use the free will given by God to us. Many of us Christians are today basing our decisions on our emotions/feelings. If it doesn’t feel right, it ain’t right! Right? WRONG!!!

Absolute Surrender to God

Remember to not make decisions based on your feelings. Rather we must make a decision to surrender ourselves in the presence of the Holy Spirit by seeing the joy through the eyes of faith! Make a decision based on the Word and the instructions of God. Yes, it may be painful; it may mean giving up things out of your control but you will at least have the assurance that you will not lose your soul.

Let me simplify this for you, for those of us grappling with this point: Let’s say you are beginning to fall in love with somebody. Now that is not wrong in itself but if that somebody is not single but married and has a family and children, do you still go ahead? Your heart says “YES! YES! YES” but the word of God says “NO!” So what do you do? Resist! FLEE! Don’t hang around! When your mind starts thinking about that person – Say STOP! In Jesus Name, I take every thought captive and submit it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

My dear friend if you have found yourself trapped in a situation like this; seek all the help you can from spiritually mature leaders/elders in your church.

Break free. Save your soul. The devil will time and again come to steal, kill and destroy. Refuse his lie. There is a way out. Continue to believe in Jesus, confess your sins, set yourself free and surround yourself with prayer and strong Bible based believers.

Do not be deceived my dear friends. May God bless you to make the right decision and not be moved by feelings alone. Guard your heart with prayer and the Word.

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Day 21

What is Witnessing?

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“ God never commands us to do anything that His grace will not enable.

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‘Witnessing’ plainly put is to introduce Jesus to others who do not yet know Him.

Who is Called to Witness?

Are you among those who believe witnessing is something you are gifted at or you are not? Or maybe you think that’s the calling reserved for your church pastor or leadership team.

Well let’s get it loud and clear – Witnessing is a command that every believer ought to follow (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20). In fact Jesus in His last words to His disciples before ascension speaks about ‘becoming His witnesses’ (Acts1:8)

More than a command, don’t you think it’s a privilege to share the love of Jesus with those who are still in bondage? For a child of God, witnessing or sharing one’s faith should come as naturally as praying, reading the word of God or any other aspect of his spiritual life.

I can go to the extent of saying that unless you are witnessing, your spiritual life is dead. Let’s learn to freely give what we have freely received (Matt10:8b).

How to Witness?

There is no standardized or universal way to witness. God has created you uniquely with your own personality, background, and testimony to share Him with others the way you want. Even the same person may witness in different ways at different times.

Of course the most important thing is that you should first experience knowing Christ for yourself, before you share Him with others– for you can’t share something you don’t have!

Here are seven keys that can help you to witness fruitfully:

1. It Begins With Love & Compassion for the Lost

A loving and compassionate heart is an indispensable prerequisite to be a witness. Unless you are genuinely burdened for those that are lost, you will never witness or your witnessing will be nothing more than a religious ritual. If lack of motivation is a hurdle for you to witness, pray to God that He would fill your heart with love and compassion for your fellow brethren.

2. Listen to Your Helper

Always be led by the Holy Spirit in when, how and whom to approach when witnessing. Pray and seek God’s direction in leading you to souls that may be in your locality, workplace etc.  And then as God leads, by faith, take the necessary step, knowing that His promise to you is: Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10b).

 3. All Authority is Yours

God never commands us to do anything that His grace will not enable. According to His word, as His child, you are already equipped with the tools and power you will need to succeed while witnessing. Jesus said: All authority is yours – not only on earth, but also in heaven (Matthew 28:18-20). So cast away all your fears, inhibitions and insecurities.

 4. Remember, No Effort is Small

Every effort that you make and every seed that you sow; be it through a word of encouragement, sharing your testimony, prayer etc is invaluable in the eyes of God. Never compare yourselves with others, but keep doing what God is asking you to do.

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5. Be Determined

A witness is like a devoted laborer. Once a seed is sown, it requires much patience, prayer and faith to see it grow. Sometimes you may see fast results, but a lot of times, it may seem that nothing is happening. But then be encouraged knowing that you have done your part.  Continue to pray and follow up. God loves His lost children and is more concerned about them than you. At the right time, God will cause the word that you have sown to bear fruit.

 6. Be Open

Be open to creative ways of witnessing. Apart from the conventional act of giving tracts or sharing of word, there are plenty of opportunities that you can get to witness. How about sending a scriptural birthday card for someone’s birthday, instead of the regular ones? Or sharing Bible-based tweets/status updates on your social media profile? I have received emails from believers who have a scripture in their signature- now that can be a good start. Business people can keep their brand and company names originated from the Bible, which can trigger conversations. The ways are many, but the best way is the way that God leads you to, by His Spirit.

 7. Be a Living Example

Last but not the least, the most effective witnessing I believe is showcased through your life, more than your words. This means to live by the principles taught by Jesus whom you proclaim. Of course, no one is perfect, but be genuine and practice what you preach. Love unconditionally, be quick to forgive, extend grace and speak words that encourage. Imagine what joy it will be when others look at life’s testimony and say, “This has to be God and I want to know Him too”.

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Day 22

Spiritual Warfare

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“ The Words and the power of the Bible come to life only when we work with God as He intended for us to do.

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A believer who walks with God, walks in between the seen and the unseen. He/she represents God’s hand and works in partnership with God in the projects of God for humanity. Satan who fell from heaven (Isaiah 14:12) constantly works like a roaring lion to see whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is the enemy of everything that is on God’s side. But we are not without supernatural & divine assistance. Jesus who has already won the battle on the cross promised us that we are already victorious through Him and that we are more than conquerors.

However by being a Christian by name or birth does not guarantee you the power of God. Just like keeping a Bible under the pillow does not protect you from attacks in the night. A Bible can be purchased in the bookstore but the holiness in it is not for sale. The words and the power come to life only when we work with God as He intended for us to do.

The Bible helps us understand the dark invisible forces that work even today through the following passage. In Ephesians 6:10-12, Apostle Paul in his letter to Ephesian Church says, “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.” (AMP)

Paul goes on to give us the solution that is available for all those who have received the

power of the Holy Spirit. [Read more about the power of the Holy Spirit here.] It is essential that we fight the battle with the complete armour of God which will help us resist and stand our ground against the works of the enemy.

The armour includes the following according to Ephesians 6:13-18.

The Belt of Truth – You need to be firmly girded in the truth in the word of God; founded strongly on the word of God.

Breastplate of Righteousness – We have no righteousness of our own. You need to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ always, denying every ungodly way of living and not letting our hearts be affected by the filth of this world.

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace - You should always be ready go anywhere and to anyone God sends you to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the love that redeemed you.

Shield of Faith – A walk of a believer is not a walk of sight but by faith. We should not respond to our circumstances in the natural but by faith in the God who called you. Your faith in Jesus will shield you from the fiery darts that the devil shoots at you.

Helmet of Salvation – The helmet for your mind, it should be firm with the knowledge of your salvation and who you are in Christ because you are saved in order to avoid thoughts that give a foothold to the devil. [See a post by Tiny Mathew on the Strongholds of Mind]

Sword of the Spirit – is the Word of God – Be well-versed both, in memory and at heart, with the Word of God in order to attack the enemy every time he comes against you.

Spiritual WarfareWeapons of a Believer

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Read the Word of God with all your heart because Jesus is the Word of God. Obeying the Word of God is obeying Jesus Himself!

Praying at All Times – You have to remain in touch with your headquarters in Heaven all the time for directions. Prayer is your connection with God.

Here are three more weapons that cause the enemy to tremble and flee from a child of Jesus.

The Mighty Name of Jesus: The Bible says in Philippians 2:10,11 “That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This name is the right of every child of Jesus. Jesus promised his disciples that if you believe, you can cast out demons, and heal the sick; all that in His name.

The Blood of Jesus: Hebrews 12:24, reminds us that the blood of Jesus speaks for us. In our unworthiness, it is the blood of Jesus that washes away all our sins. And when the Father from heaven looks down He sees the blood of His begotten Son on us crying out for mercy. It is this blood that was paid as a ransom to buy us from the slavery of sin. The blood of Jesus speaks on behalf of us. The enemy in hell shivers at the very mention of the blood of Jesus. Take time each day to cover yourself and your family and all that belongs to you in the blood of Jesus.

The Testimony of the Saints: The word of our testimony is another great tool in overcoming the enemy. When you remember what God has done in your past, you will remember that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Bible says in Revelation 12:11, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

It is important that we testify of what God has already done in our lives. Your confessions carry the power to destroy your life or build it up. Hence be careful with every word you speak and make godly and word based confessions over yourself and family.

Now go exercise the power and the authority that you have through Christ Jesus, because Jesus said, “Fear not, for I am with you“(Isaiah 41:10). For it is not you but the Holy Spirit working through you. Get ready for great celebration and mighty victories! Don’t forget to share your testimonies here of what God is doing in your life.

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Day 23

Leadership in the Church

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“ The church is more than an office or organization; it is a living organism. The head of the church is Jesus Christ who nourishes the church, giving it spiritual life.

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Nothing is more highly organized in the natural world than the simplest living cell.

The church is more than an office or organization; it is a living organism. The head of the church is Jesus Christ who nourishes the church, giving it spiritual life.

When the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, the church of Jesus Christ was birthed. The ministry of the church also began on this same day when Apostle Peter rose up and spoke the word that resulted in 3000 people being saved and baptized.

A divinely-called and Scripturally-ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the church:1.       Evangelization of the world – (Mark 16:15-20)2.       Worship of God in Spirit and truth – (John 4:23-24)3.       Building a Body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son – (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Apostle Paul introduces various offices as Christ’s gifts by quoting from Psalm 68:18: When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men. The gifts given to men are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).

Apostle

An Apostle is a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel. An official commissioner of Christ. Ambassadors sent with a mission.

The Apostles have the unique responsibility of establishing the church and building it through the Word of God. This ministry also includes the planting of churches. The apostolic function is

similar to the task of the pioneer missionary today.

The Apostles are called to influence and impact cities and nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We see this pattern in the early church that whenever the apostles stepped into cities, they influenced the entire city.

Prophet

According to the uniform teaching of the Bible, the prophet is a speaker of or for God. The words of prophets are not the production of their own spirit, but come from a higher source. The prophet is, at the same time, a seer, who sees things that do not lie in the domain of natural sight, or who hears things that human ears do not ordinarily receive. (Compare 1Samuel 9:9, where nābhı̄’ – speaker – and rō’eh – seer – are used as synonymous terms).

Prophets are those in the apostolic church who have a special ministry of inspired utterance. While the apostles and evangelists took the gospel to the unregenerate world, the prophets exercised an edifying ministry to the various churches. For example, Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets said much to encourage and strengthen the brethren (Acts 15:32).

Prophets have seen that which they prophesy, although they need not have seen it in the form of a real vision. They can also “see” words with their inner eyes (as in Isaiah 2:1 and other instances). This is an expression used to refer to moments in Scriptures where God has spoken to the prophet. Likewise, it is not necessary to have heard a voice phonetically through the natural ear either.

Leadership in the ChurchThe Five Offices of the Church

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Evangelist

ē̇-van´jel-ist: This is a form of the word ordinarily translated as “gospel” (euaggélion), except that here it designates one who announces that gospel to others (euaggelistḗs, “a bringer of good tidings”).

In that sense, God Himself is an evangelist, for He preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham (Gal 3:8); Jesus Christ was an evangelist, for He also preached the gospel (Luk 20:1); Paul was an evangelist as well as an apostle (Rom 1:15); Philip the deacon was an evangelist (Act 21:8); and Timothy, the pastor (2 Ti 4:5); and indeed all the early disciples who, on being driven out of Jerusalem, went everywhere preaching the word (Act 8:4).

But Eph 4:11 teaches that one particular order of the ministry – distinguished from every other – is singled out by the Head of the church for this work in a distinctive sense. All may possess the gift of an evangelist in a measure, and be obligated to exercise its privilege and duty, but some are specifically endued with it. He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.

The evangelist has no fixed place of ministry, but moves about in different localities preaching the gospel. As unbelievers come to the saving knowledge and are united to Jesus Christ by faith, the work of the pastor and teacher begins to instruct them further in the things of Christ and build them up in the faith.

Pastor

The term “Pastor” can also be translated as “shepherds.” Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd who gathers the flock, cares for them, knows them, rescues them when they stray and lays down His life for them (John 10:2-16). He remains the Chief Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20).

Pastors have the ministry and responsibility of caring for and protecting God’s flock as well as being worthy of their imitation.

1 Timothy 3:1-13 provides instructions for the selection of local and elected officers. The first of these officers is the “elder;” a term indicating age and maturity. In the Greek-speaking world, the term “bishop” was used as the equivalent of elder. Bishop literally means overseer or superintendent. Acts 20:28 indicates that they were also expected to have the ministry of shepherd or pastor.

Pastors serve, inspires and live as a role models for the assembly. Ordination does not make them ministers; it simply recognizes the ministry God has already given them.

Teacher

Teachers are given a special ability to explain and interpret the truth of God’s revelation (Mathew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11; 2 John 10). Some were itinerant, going from church to church. However, Ephesians 4:11 seems to connect pastor and teacher as a twofold ministry.

As we have noted, the responsibilities of each office is quite diverse; however, the goal is one and the same: To glorify God and see the Kingdom of God advance. Every office is essential and although our calls may be different, unity is key.

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. 5 There are different ways to serve the same Lord, 6 and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. – (1 Corinthians 14:4-6)

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Day 24

Living the Life, Walking the Talk

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“ Being a disciple of Jesus is about much more than about going to church or what you say, being blessed by a raise at work, speaking in tongues or seeing someone healed.

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Jesus regularly amazes me. The truth is that He should always amaze me.

What He says is staggering. What He does is mind blowing. And yet one of the greatest battles we face is to stop domesticating Him, to stop taming Him, to stop making Him seem like other men and women. Over familiarity and casualness comes simply because we might have read a “story” before, and then we lose sight of how amazing what He said and did really is.

Many Christians lose it, and when they do their life as a disciple becomes less about walking the talk, less about being amazing just as Jesus was amazing and more about getting by, about being blessed, about survival. No longer are they longing to be radical, they stop changing the world, they stop even challenging the world.

Being a disciple of Jesus is much more than about going to church or what you say, being blessed by a raise at work, speaking in tongues or seeing someone healed. Don’t get me wrong those things are great and we should be thankful to God for them.

Yet let me walk you through a few things Jesus said and along the way maybe you can ask, “Am I walking the talk and living the life?” (All references below are from the ESV unless otherwise stated.)

1. Who Do You Love?

Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”

Heart, soul, strength and mind – no part of your being should be left untouched by your love for Jesus. Love Jesus in all that you do and say and think. Love Jesus in the morning when you wake, love Jesus at work or school, love Jesus when you rest and love Jesus when you play. LOVE JESUS!

I had a friend who regularly got very upset with other car drivers in India. Seeing and listening to him I joined in. Then I realized, “How can I love God in driving my car if I am acting so badly to other drivers?” I had become a hypocrite. Think about what you do, is it for the glory of God? How about what you say, Jesus spoke amazingly challenging words about what comes out of your mouth,

Matthew 12:34, 36, 37 For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Can you say the things you say and say at the same time I love Jesus? If you can’t it’s time to repent.

2. Who Do You Serve?

Luke 10:27 and [love] your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 7:12, 25:40 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Jesus connected loving God with loving your neighbor – this is walking the talk.Have you ever thought about how revolutionary the command in Matthew 7:12 is? And note it is a command not a suggestion. I have heard people talk about this in terms of sowing and reaping, what you want someone to do for you do for someone else, then you will be blessed as Jesus gives it back to you.

Sorry, Jesus doesn’t say that here, He is looking for people who are prepared to serve as an act of worship. This is not serving because you will get something back, but serving because you love and honour Jesus by doing it. Read Matthew 25:31-46, then look for the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick and imprisoned – and serve them.

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Jesus did not ask you to sit around and think about this, in fact it has inspired generations of Christians since the first century to go out and change the world for the better.

People like William Wilberforce who was a leader in the abolition of slavery, Florence Nightingale who did much to develop nursing and caring, Amy Carmichael who worked in Southern India rescuing children from temple prostitution, all worked knowing God had called and equipped them to change their world through loving, caring and challenging. Are you changing your world?

3. What Are You Leaving?

Luke 9:23-24, And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

Jesus  said that following Him would be a costly business. A.W Tozer describes the road to the cross like this,

“The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. In Roman times, the man who took up his cross and started down the road was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life re-directed.  He was going out to have it ended.”

A missionary with New Tribes said this,

Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.Your life is an amazing gift from God. Living life to the full is only achieved by filling it with Jesus and all He has planned for you. Don’t waste your life.

4. Who Are You Blessing?

Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Wow, did you really get that? Now do it!

5. What Do You Lack?

Mark 10:21 “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

What was it that the rich young man lacked? Read Mark 10:17-22 and it is clear that Jesus saw a man who desired God, had acted righteously (at least in the worlds terms) honoring his father and mother, keeping the commandments. Yet Jesus looked at him and loved him knowing he still lacked the confidence to trust God.

He lived his life in self effort, in self righteousness, and whilst that looked good to the people around him it still fell a long way short of God’s standards for his life. It is easy to declare Jesus is my Lord and not fully give control to him.

Are there areas where Christ is not fully and unreservedly Lord of your life – areas you hold back from him because of fear or insecurity, or because you want Jesus and the world (or some part of it)?

The perfect love of God casts out all such fears from our lives (1 John 4:18). God declares that His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8,9). Is it time for you to surrender all to Jesus – fears, hopes, desires? He is faithful and can be trusted to bring something glorious out of it.

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6. Are You Living in Spirit and Word?

Luke 4:1-2,4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days,being tempted by the devil….The devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

There has been a lot written about living a victorious Christian life. Undoubtedly Jesus was 100% surrendered to the will of his Father. In that state He was filled with the Holy Spirit and lived the power of the Scriptures, they were not just words in a book but living power from God to defeat every accusation and breathe life into a weary body.

Only then could He overcome the temptation of the evil one, not because of Himself but because of the power God had provided. Loving Jesus and living for Him, cannot be accomplished through willpower or sheer determination – you need God’s power (Philippians 4:13). Get the right balance in your life of the Spirit and the Word of God and victory is possible.

7. What are You Seeking?

Matthew 6:21-22, 33, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Let me finish with two quotes – firstly, from Viola and Sweet’s excellent book, The Jesus Manifesto,

“The reality is that Christ trumps everything. All scripture testifies of Him. The Father exults Him. The Spirit magnifies Him. The angels worship Him. The early church knew Him as her passion, her message, and the unction of her life. Christ was her speciality. He was her bridegroom and head. She specialized in nothing else. …The New Testament writers were totally consumed with Christ. He was their message, their teaching, their proclamation, their very life. And everything else flowed out of intimate fellowship with Him.”

The second is from the Bible, Hebrews 12:2-3 (The Message),

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God – He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

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Day 25

Serving the Body of Christ

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“ Serving the Body of Christ does not come with a title. Nor does it come with a set of things that you have to do. It is “Attitude more than Action”.

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Before we go into serving the Body of Christ, I want us to backtrack from the actions of service and take a moment to realize and understand why we do what we do.

the essence of service is not about the action but about the motivation.

Who Do We Really Serve?

Your immediate answer to this will be God, just as was mine. But what you and I have understood about the God we serve will determine the passion with which we serve. If we see God who ‘returns the favour’ after we have done something then we are serving under a false perception.

Think about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the One who Moses served, the Lord over Israel, the Magnificent One seen by Isaiah, the glorious One in heaven as seen by John. He holds all creation in the palm of His Hands. If we go on to describe all that we know about God from the Bible, this post would not be enough. Words cannot express His awesomeness and glory. And it is this God that we are called to serve.

Why Do We Serve?

We serve because Christ did. Christ came to earth to serve. In leaving all His glory and coming down to earth, He performed the greatest act of service to God and mankind.

But this has nothing to do with the Body, you might think. The fact is unless you have not had a revelation of God and His love, expressing His kind of love will be close to impossible. Let me say it this way, if we don’t love Christ who is the Head, we would find it difficult to love the Body that is the church at large. And service, my friends, comes out of a place of love.

When you let God fill you with His love and you are brimming over with it, you can’t help but find a way to express it. Everyone you meet becomes a recipient of His love through you. You unknowingly start to serve the Body of Christ not because you stand to gain anything but because you have so much to give! Now isn’t that liberating? You do not have to perform.

Each and every one of us has been given a set of skills and abilities. Love becomes the compelling force that makes you use all that God has placed in you to bless the body of Christ.

Who Can and How Can We Serve?

Serving the Body of Christ does not come with a title. Nor does it come with a set of things that you have to do. It is “Attitude more than Action”.

So that automatically qualifies everyone to serve! We do not have to wait for someone to come and pray over us and charge us to go. But when love moves us, we obey.

These are a few things that we could keep a check of whenever we serve.

Humility – Serve with humility. Consider everyone else better than you; not only in words but even in thoughts. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He didn’t have to but in doing that He showed them what serving truly is; where the leader is the greatest servant of all. …in humility consider others better than yourself (Philippians 2:3)

Submission – You submit to the Head in serving the body. Also make mindful notice to submit to the spiritual authority placed above you, in alignment to the Word of God.

Serving the Body of ChristWho, How & CheckPoints

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Unconditional – Never be conditional in your service. We cannot gain anything out of what we do here on earth but our Father who sees in secret (the heart), will reward you greatly. Nobody is dispensable. If someone is a hand, then someone else is a leg. Each and everyone has a part to play. Be an encourager of service than an exploiter of it.

And above all, Love – In 1 Corinthians 12, the last few verses we see a whole list of services that God Himself has ordained in the church.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

And this goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 13 that 1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Let Christ’s love compel you to all things.

Spend time with Him in His presence and be filled with the love that will cause you to serve wholeheartedly!!

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Day 26

Life of Giving

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“ So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

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Under the Old Testament laws, there were different kinds of offerings like voluntary offerings, meal offerings, fire offerings, drink offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, burnt offerings and the others. However with the death of Jesus, we see that He was the ultimate sacrifice for all our sins.

However in the New Testament, we do not give for the forgiveness of sins but instead as a token of gratitude of what God has done in our lives.

None of this is to be followed a rule but it is what we choose to do for what He has done in our lives. And most of all we cannot give to God what He has not first given to us.

Everything we have is His. Therefore giving must be the easiest thing a believer does.Here are few areas that we can honor God in our finances.

Tithes

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me

now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven  And pour out for you such blessing that there will

not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10

Some argue that Tithes were an OT teaching. However, what we miss is that Jesus also taught that in Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” It is true that in the law people counted themselves as righteous if they gave their ten percent. But certainly our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and the scribes.

In no way does it mean that we are not to pay tithes. It is a warning not to be religious in our lifestyle and it includes giving.

Tithing is mentioned by Jesus Christ Himself as a part of the practice of the Mosaic Law.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices– mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law– justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former (Tithing).”  Matthew 23:23

Jesus says it clearly, “Yes, you should not neglect justice, mercy and faithfulness.  But you should also not neglect giving the tithe.”

Hebrews 7, where it describes Abraham’s relationship to Christ draws a parallel between Abraham’s tithe and his acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty.

Tithing in Malachi Teaches Three Basic Reasons

1. Food in the House of God. Your finances bless the ministry of the house of God. You help the Church to do more and reach out to more people in knowing Jesus.

2. It opens heavens. Tithing is not about money but your faith and faithfulness. It touches the heart of God that there is nothing that you won’t give back to Him.

3. It releases God’s blessing over your life in different ways even to your generations to come.

How Much?

Remember we mentioned above – exceed traditions!

When in Canada, I noticed that the minimum tip to a waiter there is 15%. It made me think that we cannot treat God any less. Allow God to lead you on how much you should tithe.

Life of GivingTithes, Offerings & First Fruits

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You may know of Mr. William Colgate. Yes, I’ve loved using the Colgate toothpaste for this one reason. William Colgate arrived in New York and got a job in a soap factory.

The first dollar he earned, he gave 10 percent to God. Soon he became a partner. Later he became the owner. The business grew, so he gave a double tithe, 20 percent. Then a triple tithe, a four fold one, 50 percent – finally he was giving 90 percent and living on the 10.

Pastor Samhwan Kim of Korea also makes the following observation about two very wealthy men in his book,  “J. D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and Carnegie (1835-1919) were tithe-giving Christians who followed Jesus as Lord and Savior.  They gained much of the world’s wealth and used them for God’s work all over the world.”

First Fruit

“The best of all first fruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your

sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal,

to cause a blessing to rest on your house.” Ezekiel 44:30

Israel in the Old Testament became prosperous through their faithfulness in giving to God. You can see that even today around the world there is a great financial blessing upon many of the Jewish Community. First fruits are simply the giving God of the first of your fruits on a tree or the first lamb or a calf that is born.

In today’s world it would be you first salary or the first promotion you receive. Now please remember non of these are laws but your willful giving to honor God even in your finances.

I remember few months ago my sister got a job at Oracle. After joining her I asked her about salary and she was excited to tithe. I reminded her that she lived all these years

without the salary and challenged her on giving God the entire salary for that month as it would not make a difference anyway. Later I was happy to know through mom that she willfully gave away every bit she got in the first salary to God. Now I know this is not practical with everyone.

And the same with the increase you receive in a promotion. If you’ve always earned 10,000 and from next month you get a increase of 2000, the first time you get your increase, give that 2000 to God. And give joyfully!

Offerings

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together,

and running over, will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

I honor & encourage the fact that the tithes need to go into a Holy Spirit-filled Church that God has planted you in. However you can give your first fruits or a portion of your offerings to a ministry or an individual that serves the body of Christ.

The only condition of giving from the Bible is to do cheerfully, “let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 Don’t do it for a reward but do it because you love God and want to obey His word. Don’t give to get but give because God first gave – even His only begotten Son.

Last but not the least - It is easy to give in abundance but let us learn to give in our need. Remember the widow in the Bible who gave what she had left? Luke 21: 1-4 A faithful giver is good but God is looking for crazy givers in this generation. I pray that you and I will be that one!

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor. 9:7

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Day 27

Fellowship of Believers

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“ All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Pet. 5:5

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The life of a New Testament believer does not end with accepting the Lord Jesus in his life and living on a secluded mountain. As much as the cross restored a vertical relationship between God and man, it also restored the horizontal relationship of men with one another. Remember that the story doesn’t end with the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

It goes on to say in Acts 2:42-47, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.“Fellowship with other believers is extremely important. That is what changes an assembly or a congregation into a church. The one reason we emphasize on being an active member of a local church is that you will have fellowship with them. You will have people who could pray for you and hold you accountable. Church is more than a service; it is a living organism. It is a body whose head is Christ Himself. And as long as all the parts of the body are connected to the head, they will work in perfect unison with each other.

The first century church used to meet up every day and partake of in the Lord’s supper to signify their fellowship and union with Christ and with each other. It might not be practical today to do it daily, but it is an essential commandment by Jesus at the last supper, that we observe the Lord’s Table in His remembrance!

Moreover, the term “one another” is mentioned 54 times in the New testament which goes on to teach and encourage us on how to have a healthy relationship with one another. Let me just mention a few of them here:

Love One Another

According to me, this is most difficult of all the commandments. Because at times, I find some people whom I don’t really connect with. They don’t think like me, they don’t talk like me, their interests and mine don’t match either. How do I ever love such a person? Interestingly Jesus raised the standard of love with His life. In the Old Testament, the standard of love was “Love your neighbour as yourself” Leviticus 19:18. In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you” John 15:12

This does seem difficult and often impossible with all the diverse and different people out there in the church! But it surely is possible to do the same as long as we abide in Him who is Love. John 15:9

Serve One Another

Love is not a only a matter of your words or feelings but is best expressed in your service to one another. The early church literally sold their inherited and hard earned property and belongings to be able to serve the less fortunate ones within the church. Today we all love to give for charity and to ministries, however often neglect that brother in the church who cannot afford his children’s education in a good school or that sister who doesn’t have enough funds for her marriage.

May I challenge you to go out of your way to serve someone in your church who really needs it? It doesn’t matter if the person reciprocates the kindness or not, can you be kind to them and serve them just as Jesus commanded us to, in John 13:14?

Fellowship of BelieversHow important is it?

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Edify One Another

Most of us are experts in dispensing advice and supposedly ministerial content at one another but how often do we really uplift a brother or a sister who is struggling in his or her walk with God? How often is your speech gracious and seasoned with salt as God expects from us? (Colossians 4:6) How often do we really take time to pray for a person whom we are so quick to correct and advise on various matters? If you are really concerned about your brother’s and sister’s spirituality, cry out to God for them before you can approach them or correct them.

Will you take efforts to genuinely edify a brother and a sister today? Will you push him or her to see and enter their God given destiny?

Below is a listing of few of those 54 verse references to the Greek word Allelous, translated as “one another or each other”.

I encourage you to spend some time studying these verses to see how you can implement them in your life. You will be surprised how much we miss out without the Word of God.

Mk. 9:50 “….Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Jn. 13:14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

Jn. 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Rom. 12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual affection. Honor one another above yourselves.

Rom. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another.

Rom. 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another….

Rom. 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

1 Cor. 11:33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.

1 Cor. 12:24-25 ….But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Gal. 5:13 ….But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Gal. 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Gal. 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

Eph. 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Eph.4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Eph. 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Col. 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.

James 4:11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another….

James 5:9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged….

1 Pet. 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Pet. 5:5 ….All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

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Day 28

Truth About the Second Coming of Jesus

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“ Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago is an undeniable fact of history. His second coming is just as certain. The critical issue is to be ready for Christ’s return.

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Following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus was taken up to heaven. While Jesus’ disciples were standing there looking up in amazement, two angels appeared to them and said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.” – Acts 1: 11 (ESV)

According to God’s Word, here’s what will take place at the rapture: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (ESV)

When Christ returns, the Lord will give us bodies like His glorious body as Philippians 3:21, says, “who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.“

Hope that a child of Jesus has is not a common one. The Bible in Hebrew calls it the “full assurance of hope.”

According to the words of Paul, we sinners who believe in Jesus are saved and have eternal comfort and that hope through grace. 2 Thess 2: 16 And a person is born into that living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, when he accepts Him. (1 Pet 1:3)

And through out the Epistles you will see that hope is echoed on the return of Christ. Titus 2: 13 says, “awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

When Will it Happen?

Periodically throughout history – some people have been arguing that Jesus has already come, while some others are trying to predict His exact date of return. However the Bible says, If they say to you, “Look, He is in the wilderness,” do not go out. If they say, “Look, He is in the inner rooms,” do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:26)

Further Jesus went on to say that His second coming will be like lightning. “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:27)

1 Thes 5:1-11 talks about that coming day of the Lord. “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.“

“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:44

Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago is an undeniable fact of history. His second coming is just as certain. The critical issue is to be ready for Christ’s return.

And no, this is not going to be a secret. The whole world will know about it. Matthew 24:30 says, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.“

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What is Jesus Coming Back For?

The second coming of Jesus Christ is the completion of His saving grace. It makes no sense to have Jesus born, die and then resurrect, to be vanished forever. He is coming back again to take back to heaven all those who have believed Him and to judge those who have denied Him.

The Bible says, “The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

The reason we have not yet seen His coming again is because there are yet many who are to know the truth of Jesus. Therefore it is the duty of every believer to spread the truth of who Jesus is.

Hebrews 9: 26- 28 talks about the first coming of Jesus and the second. “Christ has appeared once for all at the climax of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once for all to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.“

The Preparation

It is very clear here that Jesus is coming for those that are eagerly waiting for Him. The question every believer need to ask is if you are eagerly waiting for Him, are you repeatedly pondering about His return? Do you pray for it? Are you preparing your heart and living accordingly?

Even as we prepare for our future in this life, we must not forget to prepare for the life after this life by pursuing Jesus everyday. We need to live this life responsibly and in a way that pleases Him.

Here is what the scripture says about preparing for the great Day that is drawing near.

Hebrews 10: 23-30  “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the One who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Yes, it is clear, ‘The Lord will judge His people’ (verse 30). So when the verse says that we have an appointment for judgement after death there will be great act of divine vengeance that has not accepted those who claim to be part of God’s people, but are only Christians by name.

1 Thess 5: 4-11 further encourages us, “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

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But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.“

That verse needs to wake us up to the reality, that we may confess our sins; begin to pray for the awakening of our hearts; and set ourselves in preparation of the coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: “Our Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise of Christ’s return. Thank you for your great grace and salvation and the promise of a home in Heaven for all who believed and accepted you as Savior. Help me prepare for Christ’s return and help me overcome everything that is not of you in my life. I accept your forgiveness and love. Thank you Holy Spirit for empowering me to live this life. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.”GU

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Day 29

Final, reminders.

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“ Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

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In this final post, we are thankful to God for allowing us to speak into your lives for the last few weeks through this intensive study series.

Also, we thank you for being hearers, doers and sharers of the truth that have been presented here. Here is our final post of encouragement that we pray will bless you.

In the beginning, the earth was without form and void. Over the next six days, the Lord created everything we needed. And He created them diverse, but balanced.

The enemy always fights everything that God has created and looks to create chaos into the system God created, which includes our spiritual life. Satan uses everything – sometimes even the most unexpected people – to sow chaos, false beliefs, fear and doubt to distort the ultimate truth.

This is why as a Christian, it is very important to live a balanced Christian life.

We are One Body of Jesus:

It is not good for a child of Jesus to be disrespectful of the other gifts that exist and unteachable of the things that maybe beyond one’s understanding. Honour all ministers, ministries and churches. Some have more grace than others. Let’s learn to love and see them through the eyes of Jesus.

Stay Hungry for More of God:

We will know more of Him if we do not get familiar with the things of God. Don’t get stagnant in your Christian walk with God. There is no one who knows everything about God and His Word. Prayer on its own without the Word of God, which has to be the foundation, will make us lose out on victorious living. At the same time, the Word alone without the Holy Spirit and prayer will result in a dry and powerless faith walk.

Living Holy:

Remember not to judge anyone as if we are above mistakes. Never stop asking and learning either. The grace of God always leads us away from sin and not into sin. The Lord will forgive us each and every time we go to Him, but that gives us no permission to live in sin. The Word of God is powerful to empower us to live holy.

Let us remember 1 Thessalonians 4:

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother (or sister) in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Put Your Trust in the Lord:

Keep no man elevated in the place of God. All of us need God’s grace and mercy. Learn to forgive and let love lead even when humans disappoint us. Remember we need love, forgiveness and mercy ourselves. If you are disappointed by a brother, sister or someone you look up to, pray for them and ask God to help you to not disappoint others.

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Trials in Your Life:

Christian life is not without trials. Trials only make your faith strong. As the Bible says: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (James 1:2-3). You don’t have to run to a pastor each time you face struggles; practice running to Jesus. Develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is your Helper.

Prayer and the Word:

Do not neglect prayer and reading the Word. In fact, make it your daily priority. The Word of God will empower, sanctify and equip you to live this life. When you keep God’s commandments, God will keep His promises. And remember His timing is always better than ours.

Guard Your Heart:

And finally my friends, remember to thank God always and in everything. The joy of the Lord is your strength – not promotions, careers, cars or anything else that the world offers. Therefore, in all things – from your coffee, workplace, marriage and family – remember to guard your heart with thanksgiving.

Acknowledge the Lord in every big or small issue of life and you will have success.

With this, we conclude this much needed series. I hope your walk with God goes from strength to strength.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14).

My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 16:24).

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Day 30

Frequently Asked Questions

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Here are the top 10 questions asked on the blog with this series. We hope they will answer your questions too. Have more doubts, feel free to visit our blog and discuss with the GTH community.

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1. Whom should our prayer be addressed to? The Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit?

Answer: Please note, Jesus tells His disciples to ask the Holy Spirit to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:38)  Another time, Jesus mentions about prayer to be addressed to the Father. (Matthew 6:9)  Can these both be correct? Essentially, prayer is addressed to God. And as we have studied, the Father, the Son and the Spirit are ONE. And unlike us, they are united without any ego issues. So go ahead and pursue Him as you are led.

2. What does the scripture mean by, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12)?

Answer: This is a verse that has caused many people to think we need to work to achieve our salvation. Please note, this verse does not mean that we have to make efforts to deserve salvation on the grounds of our good works. That is out of the question, for what can man do that is equivalent to eternal life in heaven?

It also does not mean that we have to work towards making atonement for past sins. It would be equally impossible, and besides, is unnecessary. It is an act which has already been done by our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

What it does mean is that, we are not to live in sin, but make honest efforts to live in the way which God has commanded in His Word. This can only be possible when we live in reverence to God (in other words, in the fear of God).

3. Is Baptism without fully believing in Christ valid? Is child baptism or sprinkling of water enough?

Answer: Jesus clearly mentions that those who believe must be baptized. (Mark 16:16) A child in its infant stage has no knowledge of sin. So there is no way that an infant baptism will have any effect on the child. The only closest

mention in the bible related to this subject, is of a child dedication with an offering unto God. (Luke 2:22,23) See more on Baptism here.

4. What happens if someone is married to an unbeliever and hence prolongs the decision to get baptized until after the spouse’s conversion? Is that a legitimate reason enough to wait?

Answer: The Bible certainly encourages us to obey our government, leaders and parents, and honor marriage, all based on the fact that they come after God. So it means, if your leaders, partner or parents ask you to do something that is against obeying God, you should, instead, obey God first, and only then love them.

We should not forget that Jesus said, “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ” Matthew 10: 21, 22.

Jesus goes on to say in the same chapter, verse 28 – 33, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Your obedience to God may attract persecution for a while, but it will give your persecutors a chance to know this precious Jesus, for whom you are willing to die.

We are called to be the light. It starts with us.

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5. How do you meditate? What does it mean to meditate as a Christian?

Answer: As a Christian, you have to be careful not to meditate on anything or anybody else other than Christ. Classes today that teach yoga, calming or emptying of mind and more, are great deceptions of the enemy. Remember, Jesus mentioned how the devil came back to posses the man who was free of demonic possession and was still empty. It caused the demons to attack him again with seven more demons. We are called not to empty our minds, but to transform our minds to the mind of Christ.

However, as a child of Jesus, you can meditate on the Word of God. In silence (or even in the midst of the noisy world around us), ponder about what Christ has commanded us to do and how you can follow Him.

To meditate on the Word simply means to dwell on a thought from the Word or to think deeply and carefully into a verse. During this time, allow the Holy Spirit to speak into your heart. When you silence your heart and meditate on the Word of God, you will begin to hear God’s voice more clearly!

6. How do I know the will of God? How will I know what to choose, how to choose, what to do, when to do?

Answer: Even though we wrote about the bigger perspective of knowing God’s will, I understand the fact that many would still want to know how to know God’s will on specific situations.

There are certainly no one line answers to this. We’ll break this subject into 5 areas on how you can understand the will of God.

1. First, remember that knowing God’s will is completely based on knowing what God wants for us through the Word of God. Yes, the Word of God has answers to all your day-to-day needs! Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal

them to you. Check if your decision aligns you to the Word of God. If the decision you make is even remotely contradicting the Word of God, then flee from it without the slightest compromise.

2. Ask the Lord to reveal to you. This may happen through many ways.

1 God can use a prophet to already confirm what He has been speaking to your heart.

2 God can use anything around you to speak to you – literally, or figuratively through parables.

3 God can speak to you through dreams. Remember not to read too much into it. God will make it clear for you.

4 God can speak to you through visions when you are in prayer.

On a general note: Bible encourages us to test all things. It means we should not make swift decisions but wait on God for clarity on what He is showing you.

3. Walk by faith. If none of the above happens, remember that God is your Father. Ask Him to shut any doors that are not from Him, and lead you to those doors that are from Him. Before you step out in faith, you must have a relationship with Jesus. Based on this relationship with Him, the Lord would lead your steps. “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way.” Psalm 37: 23

4. God expects you to have the mind of Christ. There are Christians who, even after years of being believers, still depend on prophets or other people for guidance on even the simplest of things. As you grow in the Lord, the Lord expects you to walk, knowing the heart of God you have received through His Word. As a child of Jesus, keep your heart and mind open to what pleases God. And as you do that, remember, as we love Him, all things will work together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

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5. Pray like everything depends on prayer! This, I believe, does not need any explanation. However, do not underestimate the power of prayer and fasting. The Lord will guide your steps.

It may not be in your time and the way you expect, but the Lord will certainly guide your ways as you commit your life to please Him totally.

7. How do I know what my gifting is? How do I know what my calling is?

Answer: It is not very hard to know what your gifting is. Because if the Lord has gifted you in an area, it will begin to manifest. It may start manifesting in an insignificant way, through small healings, small prophetic unctions, or a word that comes to you. As you begin to practice using those gifts, those giftings will significantly become more visible, multiply and bear fruit for our Master’s glory.

It’s wonderful to know what one’s calling is. When Jesus called His disciples, He gave them one common command-to witness to the unsaved. Later on, we see how different offices of the Church are mentioned in the Bible. It is not necessary to be upset or halt everything to know your calling, because I believe that as you wholeheartedly pursue God, it is only a matter of time when you will find yourself serving the Lord in what He has called you into.

Take out time to check what the passions are that God has laid in your heart with regard to serving people. Is it to serve, teach, preach, music, motivate or empower? Those will give you an idea of how God may be leading you. Ask your overseer or your Pastor on what strengths they notice in you. Begin to closely associate yourself with those who have a similar passion. Never stop learning. Ask the Lord to send you a mentor who fears God, to guide you in your calling.

8. What should we do if sharing about Christ ends up in an argument?

Answer: Please remember, no one comes to Jesus because they lost an argument. Bible says, “No one comes to the Father but through Jesus”. Never try arguing. It does no good to either side. Titus 3: 9 says, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”

Simply pray and love! Let God do the opening of the heart!

9. Can every believer cast out demons and pray for the sick?

Answer: Jesus said, “And these signs will accompany those who believe.” Mark 16:17However, if there is any doubt or fear in you, then do not lay hands on the sick, especially those possessed with demons.

This should not let you be discouraged or to refrain in fear, though. Have fellowship and learn from those believers who have been practicing God’s power through faith in the name of Jesus. As you study the Word of God and remain in prayer and fasting, the Lord will equip you with faith and the power that is the name of Jesus. It’s only a matter of time that God will begin to use you as you walk with HIM!

10. Will the Church go through a tribulation period? When will the return of Jesus be? What does it mean by pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation and post-tribulation rapture?

Answer: Well, there are a lot of scriptures in the Bible that talk about the second coming and the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ. Over time, there have been various interpretations by different theologians on when the rapture will be.

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Here are 3 major interpretations that are widely accepted among the churches world over:

1. Pre-tribulation Rapture: This interpretation infers that the rapture will mark the beginning of the seven year tribulation when the anti-Christ will rule over the earth, and that the glorious appearance of Jesus with the saints that were caught up in the rapture, will be at the end of this seven year period, thus implying that the church will not go through the tribulation period.

2. Mid-tribulation Rapture: This interpretation infers that the rapture will happen three and a half years into the tribulation period. Thus the church will be saved from the severe cruelty at the hands of the anti-Christ in the second half.

3. Post-tribulation Rapture: This interpretation points out that Jesus will come at the end of the tribulation period. Thus the church will go through the full length of the tribulation period, and the coming of Jesus will squash the anti-Christ’s rule on the earth and begin a new millennium from then on.

Now to find out when the rapture will be, we need to go back to the Words of Jesus.Jesus said, “No one but the Father knows the exact hour.”(Matt 24:36) Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” There is no harm in trying to study the possibilities of Christ’s return, but our greater responsibility is to live prepared for the return of our Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST.

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Shyju Mathew MinistriesP. O - 3222Bangalore - 32India

mail@shyjumathew.com Ph: +91 80-88034774Wb: www.shyjumathew.com FB: www.facebook.com/SMMinistriesTw: www.twitter.com/SMMinistries

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