Endure and Reign With Him!

“If we endure,

we will also reign with him.” 2 Timothy 2:12.

William Barclay said, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” In God’s economy, the current temporary sufferings and future eternal weight of glory are related. Your hard things and sufferings you face now turn itself into glory and reigning opportunities in the future if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ. 

When we come to God in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, several significant transactions happen. God saves us from our sins by forgiving and canceling out all our sins, gave us eternal life and inheritance in heaven. God gives us the Holy Spirit, who will be with us forever when we accepted Christ as our savior. (John 14:16-17). Also, the Holy Spirit of God sealed us with the pledge of our future inheritance in heaven. Holy Spirit given is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. (Ephesian 1:13-14).

Besides, God gave us the authority and power for our present living and an excellent reigning role for our future. Jesus said, ” All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20). The Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and he sends us with His authority now when you live here.

Besides, God has given us a significant role in the future. Not only we have God-given authority now for His services, but we also have the God-given reigning role in the future.

After graduation, when I started my first job, I had to spend many months on an on-the-job-training so that I would be capable and skillful in managing employees and portfolios. For a believer in Christ, this life is the on-the-job-training for the opportunities in the coming eternity. God prepares a believer to reign with Him in His coming earthly kingdom and all through eternity. Revelation 5:20 says those who are purchased by the blood of Christ will reign on the earth. Revelation 20:4 and 6 says the believers in Christ will rule with Christ on this earth for thousand years when Christ establishes His kingdom on this earth as a fulfillment of several prophecies. This thousand-year period is called the Millennium. Revelation 22:5 (c) affirms even after the millennium or thousand years rule with Christ on this earth, the believers in Christ will reign forever and ever in eternity.

You see, the Bible informs “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalms 103:19) and as children of God bought and purified by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, ruling this universe God made is our family entrepreneurship. God’s kingdom rules over all and there are lot of services/functions to do in God’s kingdom.

Peter asked Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:27-29). 

It appears our unique role in the future rulership is related to how do we endure the sufferings for the name of Christ right now. On the surface level, as a believer in Christ, we all will reign with Christ. In a deeper sense, if God gave us the privilege to endure harsh sufferings for Christ’s name, then the opportunity to rule with Christ will be elevated to a higher level. Our role in future reign would be related to our current sufferings for the Lord on this earth. 2nd corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”1st Peter 4:13, “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

Beloved, remember if you endure, you will also reign with Him. Endure means if you stand in faith in Jeus Christ amid pain and fatigue, to continue, bear pain, to last. Would you endure in your pain and difficulties because of the name of Christ? Bible guarantees you will reign with him. 

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I understand my suffering now is only temporary, and I will exchange my current suffering with the eternal weight of glory in heaven. I know you will be with me in my pains and sufferings and would grant me the needed strength every day. I worship you, Lord. I surrender my life for your will and purposes. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

Keep The Big Picture Of Divine Purpose In Mind!

“In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1st Peter 1:6-7.

God wants you to remember what He has already done for you, what he does for you now, and what he would do for you in the future, in the midst of your sufferings now. Secondly, God wants you to reflect on the purpose and the value of your sufferings. Then there is a possibility of great rejoicing amid trials. This great rejoicing is not earthbound, it is heaven-bound. It is unknown to human wisdom. It is not earthly generated, but heavenly generated.

Read the verses before our insight today. Verses 3 to 5 say, in His mercy toward you God gave you a new birth, a living hope, inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. The inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Now through faith, you are shielded by God’s power until you stand before him. Listen! You as a child of God are shielded by God’s power. Missiles will come against you. Arrows would target you. However, God says you are shielded by His power now when you live on this planet earth.

It says there now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. However, God wants you to remember the above five points. These are the five reasons why you and I can rejoice in the grace and mercy of God. Almighty God’s mercy is on you. He gave you a new birth, he gave your inheritance that would perish, spoil or fade. The inheritance is reserved for you in heaven, you are shielded by His power now.

Then it says in verse 7 all kinds of trials have come with a divine purpose. What is that purpose? It says these painful trials have come so that your faith in Him would prove genuine. Your unshaken faith and hope in the Lord have greater worth than gold. Gold also would eventually perish, even though it could be refined by fire. However, your faith in God would never perish. Like gold purified, your faith would be purified by the fiery and refining experiences of various trials. Remember your faith is purified through it all. Your faith in the Lord stands shining and purified. Finally, it will result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus appears.

It says in the midst of it all, you have an inexpressible and glorious joy, even though you do not see him now with your physical eyes. You will receive the end result, which is praise, glory, and honor along with the salvation of your soul forever and ever.

What is the lesson? God is merciful toward you. In His mercy, he did several things for you already. Now, you are shielded by God’s power through your faith in Him. The purpose is you need to be promoted to the next level of faith. God test and purify you like a goldsmith purifies gold to make shining for his Glory in His unique way for you. However, God’s shielding protection is on you even in the purifying time. One day without much delay all these dark times you encountered would result in your praise, glory, honor, and full and complete salvation of your body and spirit.

Remember what God had done already done for you, what he does for you now, and what he would do for you in the future. Think about the big picture God has in mind for you. Then you can rejoice today.

The Dire Need of the Time!

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

Last two years, people in the world suffered from COVID-19. Many lost their dear ones. Even after two years countries are now impacted by variants of the Corona virus.  Now, at this time people in the world are told they are in a third World War due to the recent attack of Ukraine and threatening warning of Russia to other nations about Nuclear attack, if they interfere.

Beloved, look, by this time we know for sure that there is no guarantee for tomorrow when you live on this planet earth. It could be some kind of virus, natural disaster, war, nuclear war, or whatever. One day you would breathe your last, most probably without a prior warning or prep time. Bible says people are like a mist that appears in the morning and then vanishes. (James 4:14). That is why Jesus said the dire need to enter into God’s kingdom at your earliest convenience. Jesus said “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Repentance is the prime need of everyone, living everywhere before we face death. Because the entrance into the kingdom of heaven hinges on your repentance and acceptance of good news, the Gospel, according to the words of Jesus and the Bible. Matthew 4:17, Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15 all records “repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Peter later elaborates on the concept after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, in his preaching recorded in Acts 2:38. It says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

First, this tells us repentance in the name of Jesus Christ results in the forgiveness of your sins. Repent means ‘turn around and go another way’. You are traveling in an ungodly way. You were indulging in sinful passions and unjust and wicked actions. Now you understood you were wrong in thoughts, attitudes, and actions and decided to travel in another way. That is the way of Jesus.

Your decision to go the way of Jesus is sealed by God by baptizing you by the Holy Spirit by which you are added to the church. (Ephesian 1:13, 1st Corinthians 12:12-13) And your willingness to obey the commandment of water baptism publicly displays you are baptized by the Holy Spirit to be united to Jesus Christ and His church. Second, repentance is required for everyone. No one is exempt from repentance. Bible says “all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God.” So we must all repent and accept the good news. Thirdly, when you repent or change your mind, the forgiveness of all your sins and mistakes is available in the name of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is only available in the name of Jesus Christ. Bible says, “for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Only the name of Jesus Christ. There is no other name or gurus or religious systems or philosophies are appointed to save you from your sins. This is because Jesus is the only one who paid for your sins by his death, burial, and resurrection. He carried your sins on his body, went to the cross, and shed all his divine and sinless blood to pay ransom for you. Bible says in 1st Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” There is no other name and no other mediator between God and mankind. Jesus is the only savior and mediator because He gave Himself as a ransom for all people.

You see, all people must repent and accept the good news to enter into God’s kingdom. All people must come to the only one mediator and savior – Jesus Christ to enter into God’s kingdom. Fourthly, it says you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You need the help of the Holy Spirit to make right and godly decisions. You need Him to comfort, guide, lead and teach you in all things. God gives the Holy Spirit as a gift to all who come repent and come to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Fifth, this promise-the promise of forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit- is for you and your children and for all who are far off. This means those who listen to Peter on that day and their children. Moreover, not only them but for all who are far off. For all who live anywhere on the earth and live at any time in history. Sixth, it says this promise is for all whom the Lord our God will call. What? I thought I would call the name of Jesus for forgiveness. It is true you would call for sure. It is required. Peter brings in here the point of God’s election when it comes to salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and the free gift of the Holy Spirit.

Bible always links people the responsibility to respond to God’s loving call in repentance and God’s election or predestination in salvation. Remember, Jesus said no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.” John 6:44. You see, salvation, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life are always a divine mystery as Jesus illustrated in John 3.

Many people do not really know how to explain human responsibility to come to Jesus and God’s predestination. I am not different either. I agree it is hard to understand because we are trying to understand the plan of the infinite God with our finite minds. Let me simply say this- if you are elected, and predestined for salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life, God the Father draws you to His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. You would come and accept Jesus as your savior for sure. If you are not pre-destined for salvation and forgiveness of sins, you would not care and would not come to Jesus in repentance. It is that simple. However, you do not come to Jesus today does not mean you will not come and accept Jesus as your savior in the future. As long as you come to Jesus in repentance prior to your death, you have the privilege to enter into God’s kingdom. Human responsibility is there. God’s predestination is also there. You would come if you are elected and pre-destined. You would not come before your death if you are not elected and predestined by God.

Bible clearly states and Jesus stated that those who won’t come to Him would not enter into God’s kingdom and they would be left for another kingdom called the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of devil and demons. People’s choice has an eternal impact. I hope you would not deny the offer of the kingdom of heaven from the loving Lord. God loves you. Bible says He is patient toward you and does not want anyone to perish. (2nd Peter 3:9). This is why He sent Jesus to pay for your sins so that He would transfer you from the kingdom of darkness and devil to the kingdom of light, the kingdom of His beloved Son Jesus Christ.

Dead inside? Want to be Alive in spirit?

“Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us” Ephesians 2:5.

We discussed yesterday that spiritual growth has a beginning point. We will get a little bit more details about the concept.

Bible says in Ephesians 2 the condition of all people before spiritual life divinely sprouts in them. It says in Ephesians 2 that we were all dead in our transgressions and sins. It was not the Holy Spirit, but the spirit of the one who is at work was inside us. As a result, we were disobedient, gratifying the cravings of the flesh, following its desires and thoughts. On top of that, we followed the ways of this world. We followed the ways of the ruler of the kingdom of the air. The spirit of who is at work and the ruler of the kingdom of the air are referring to the spirit of the devil and his demons.

However, the passage in chapter 2 says because of God’s great love for us, because He was rich in mercy, we got the opportunity to hear the wonderful message about the love and mercy of God- the gospel or good news. In short, you heard the Word of God that assures God loves you. He is merciful to you. You heard God gave his only begotten son for your sake and He paid for all of your sins and shortcomings to bridge the gap between you and God. You heard the invitation to accept the invitation of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life available in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. When you accepted God’s invitation by taking Jesus as your savior, the Bible says God made you alive with Christ even though you were dead in your transgressions and sins in the past. God breathed new life into your spirit and you became spiritually alive toward Him.

You see, you were dead spiritually. Now because of your acceptance of Jesus Christ, God made you spiritually alive. You are made alive spiritually because the Holy Spirit of God began to live inside you at the moment of your acceptance of Jesus.  Ephesian 1:13 says, “And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” God’s Holy Spirit is a free gift upon the profession of your faith in Jesus. You were dead to God, his love, forgiveness, and salvation. Now you are alive to God and receive His love, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, and His Holy Spirit. This is the point of spiritual re-birth. Then begins the spiritual growth. Spiritually dead before and now spiritually alive. Spiritual growth is possible now because you have the Holy Spirit inside you upon your acceptance of Jesus Christ.

Bible calls this in another term – It says you are born again into God’s family. You started growing when you were first born in your mother’s womb. Now you are born again by the wonder-working grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God because you accepted His Son Jesus Christ who died and paid for your sins and as a result, God gave you the Holy Spirit to facilitate spiritual growth. Spiritual growth means growing in the knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ. God gave you two instruments to facilitate the new spiritual growth – the Word of God, the Bible, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus called the disciples they did not understand all the details. Jesus called and they simply decided to follow him with limited knowledge and awareness. This was true about all spiritual giants. They just accepted the call of Jesus Christ. Jesus still calls and when you take that small step of faith and accept Christ as your savior and lord from your sincere heart, He takes and seals your decision for eternity and starts building spiritual growth on it. In a matter of months, years you are on your way to spiritual growth and God would use you in ways that you would never imagine or fathom in your wildest dreams, for His glory.

Now if you are already a believer in Jesus for some time or even a long time, do not get disappointed. As long as you live, you can jump-start spiritual growth. If you are a retiree, you can jump-start your spiritual growth in your golden years. It is never too late to grow spiritually until you die physically. However, you are not dead yet. It means you can attain spiritual growth the way the Lord intended. You pray to God. As you pray God would help you to develop a plan by which you can grow spiritually. The plan involves His word, His Holy Spirit, and some time. One way to look at spiritual growth is growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The more you grow the more you become look like Jesus Christ in grace and truth. You would become a champion of grace and truth like Jesus was. It is an amazing call to become more like Jesus. It is a big privilege and heavenly calling because don’t you know, the world thirsts for grace and truth?

“Father in heaven, I thank you for your word that said I am dead toward the living God until You make me alive toward you by my faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus died, buried, and rose again for my sins. Please forgive me, save me and grant me your Holy Spirit who would guide, teach, help me to grow spiritually. Lord help me to study Your Word, the Bible, and lean on the Holy Spirit every day. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

He Erects Permanent Monuments of Grace and Victory!

“Throughout the coming ages, we will be the visible display of the infinite, limitless riches of his grace and kindness, which was showered upon us in Jesus Christ” Ephesians 2:7. TPT

Do you know what God wants to do for you and me? Listen carefully -God removes the ugly sins of our life and erects in its place permanent monuments of His wonderful, amazing, and glorious grace when we repent about it and come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness.

What a trade-off! You give your sins to the Lord in heartfelt repentance. In return, you get the trophies of His extraordinary grace. I am a recipient of this marvelous grace. He still erects monuments of grace and victory in my life because I cling to Him on an ongoing basis. The same is right for you if you are a believer in Christ Jesus.

Our today’s Bible insight says, “Throughout the coming ages we will be the visible display of the infinite, limitless riches of His grace and kindness, which was showered upon us in Jesus Christ.”

Bible is full of heroes of faith in God. They became heroes not because they were outwardly pious and religious. The Bible heroes of faith were honest in admitting that they were sinners, and despite their failures, they put their faith, hope, and trust in God’s promises. God made them the trophies of His grace for all people to see.

Aren’t you glad the Bible never hides truths about their lives? If Bible hid the facts about them, we would not have understood the wonder-working power of God’s grace and would not have viewed them as heroes of faith. They were not self-made men. They were men turned around by God’s effectual call and irresistible grace. Moses, the most outstanding leader of the nation Israel, was once a murderer. His anger issue kept him from stepping into the promised land. Abraham was a man who took a shortcut to obtain God’s promise by getting a child from his servant, Hagger. Bible records even the lies he had to say when he went down to Egypt, where he should not have gone anyway. Noah was a great faith warrior whom God used to rescue the whole world from destruction by flood. However, when the flood receded, we see him naked and drunk.

Jacob, once a schemer and deceiver, God made a nation out of his twelve children. How about Elijah, who was depressed and wanted to end his life. (1 Kings 19). How triumphantly God changed him to a fearless fighter and overcomer? Take a look at the list of the hall of fame in Hebrews 11. Think about Paul and Peter. All these heroes of faith were men like us –they shared the same weakness we have.

Beloved, the God of the Bible, the only one and true living God, still do this in people’s lives. He does this more often now than ever before because of His Son, Jesus Christ. When you come to Him and admit your failures, instead of hiding and rationalizing, and believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, His Son, for your sins, there starts the infinite, limitless flow of God’s grace and kindness toward you. Our today’s Bible verse also says why God does this- so that throughout the coming ages (nowhere on this earth and throughout eternity), you will be a visible display of the trophies of His grace. God showers His grace upon you because you accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, who paid it all for you. Bible says in Ephesians 1:6: you will be the glorious praise of His grace forever and ever.

God turned the failures of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Paul, Peter, and others into triumphs of victory. God turned my failures into monuments of His grace, not because I deserved it. But because I came to His Son in repentance and leaned on what Jesus did for me on the cross, where he carried my sins on his divine and sinless body. I looked at the cross, where I saw the ugliness of my sins on the body of Jesus. I understood he paid it all in my place. No more sacrifice is available or required. It was a done deal once and for all.

My dearly beloved, Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, and He is the only way to receive God’s infinite and limitless riches of grace. The moment you come to that realization and call the name of Jesus for help, God turns all your failures into trophies of His grace.

Are you broken? Have relationships broken? Are you bankrupt? Are you depressed? Would you come to Jesus, the savior of the whole world, who will turn your failures, even self-caused failures, into trophies of His triumph and grace? No sins are too big for him to wash away. Bible says in Him grace and forgiveness are abundant.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I thank you for the infinite, limitless riches of your grace and kindness which you showered upon me because of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for all of my sins. Jesus, please come into my life and bless me with your grace and loving-kindness. I repent of my sins and ask your forgiveness. Thank you for saving me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

Serving the purpose of God in your generation!

After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22

” For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay..”(Acts 13:36).

I want to bring to your attention three things from the above verses today. David had his heart set after God and His purposes from a very young age. In the same way, God wants us to have a heart set after Him and His purpose. David must understand God’s will for His life, which of course he did. God knew David would do His will because his heart was set after God. Therefore He removed Saul and made David the king of Israel. God called David “a man after my own heart”.

Secondly, David served the purpose of God in his own generation. He did not serve the Lord in any other generation. He had a window of opportunities to serve the Lord in his unique generation only. Similarly, we have a limited window of time divinely appointed to serve our generation. The generation we serve the Lord is different from David’s. We are not serving the Lord in the old testament period or even the first century. We are not serving the Lord in the 15th,17th, or 18th century AD. We serve the Lord in this 21st century. We serve the Lord in this global-oriented, technologically driven, liberal, and loose generation that questions the existence and authority of God.

Thirdly, to serve the Lord in our generation that faces totally different challenges, we must get the divine counsel for this generation. The word ‘boulei’ used in verse 36 means “the divine counsel” of God. The right translation is David served his generation by God’s divine counsel for His purpose. He got the counsel from God to effectively serve in his day. The Word of God does not change over time. The Word of God remains the same. It is fixed in heaven forever. It does not change over time or according to generations. Alternatively, we can not mold this generation to fit into past generations either. Why? Because we are uniquely called to serve our generation with all its new challenges with the eternal Word of God.

Three things emerge from our today’s insight. Number one, like David, we must set our hearts to do God’s will. For this, we must understand God’s word and that will lead us to understand His will for our lives. Secondly, we have a unique call to serve this generation. We are not called for a prior generation or a future generation. Our call is for our generation with all its challenges. Thirdly, to serve our unique generation for the purpose of God, we need the divine counsel of God from the pages of the Bible.

Now, did David fulfill God’s plans and desires? The answer is yes. The passage says he fulfilled God’s will and served the counsel of God in his generation. We may doubt this because of his sin with Bathsheba, the murder of Uriah, and the numbering of people. Amid these failures, his overall life is testified well done by God. You see, God testified he has done the will of God and served the Lord with the purposes of God in his generation. Even in his repentance and confession of sins, he did the will of God. 

You see, God is not looking for perfect people to do His work in this generation. Many people who fulfilled God’s will and purpose in the pages of the Bible were not perfect or sinless. However, he searches for those whose heart is set on Him and His purpose. Bible says in 2nd Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Besides, God searches for a person who is willing to accept his errors and confesses his sins to become pure again by the wonder-working power of God.

Beloved, do you want to fulfill God’s plan and purpose in your life? Do you want to serve the purpose of God with His counsel in your generation? First of all, you must come to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth, died for all of your sins to make you clean to serve Him? Have you taken that first step?

Got a moment for today’s prayer? Pray after me. “Father in heaven, I want to do your will in my life. I want to serve my generation with your counsel to fulfill your purpose. I submit myself to you. I want to know your counsel from the pages of the Bible to effectively serve this generation. I believe Your Son, Jesus Christ, died and rose again for all my sins. I believe Him as my savior and Lord. Use me and equip me to serve my generation with your counsel. I surrender my life to you. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3

Our hearts are troubled with numerous things we face – another potential world war, wars in society, racial tensions, relationship tensions, children’s rebelliousness, severe health issues, financial tensions, and the list goes on.

Is Your heart troubled? I know my heart gets troubled these days.  I know sure without asking that your hearts would also get troubled. Listen! Jesus gave the antidote to our troubled hearts. Keep the antidote deep inside your heart.

1. Do not let your hearts be troubled. 2. You believe in God; believe also in Jesus. 3. My Father’s house has many rooms, and He will come back and take you to Him that you may be where He is forever.

The Lord Jesus gave us His comfort when He said these beautiful and gracious words.  By the first assurance of the secret and comforting words from Jesus regarding the rapture, He comforted the disciples amid their sorrows and fears. And the same verses comfort us today amid confusion and chaos.

Apostle Paul later refreshed our hearts by giving a little bit more explanation of this event promised by Jesus. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “For the Lord (Jesus) himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” When Christ appears as He promised, He will come down from heaven the same way He went up, as described in Acts 1. This time with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ (the believers who already died by professing their faith in the Lord Jesus) will rise first. Immediately after that, the believers in Christ who are still alive and left here will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So you will be with the Lord forever.

Make a note; he says, “therefore encourage one another with these words of the hope of the rapture of the Church (the believers who trusted and believed in Jesus as their savior)-the blessed hope, comfort and promise Jesus gave us.

The Bible says in 1 John 2:17, “The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.” Listen! God says the world as you see now would pass away with all its desires. In contrast to all that is going to fade away or be destroyed, whoever does the will of God remains steadfast forever. What is the will of God that causes you to remain forever? Jesus answered this question in John 6:40. He said, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Beloved, have you beheld the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and believed in Him? If so, you will remain forever. You have eternal life, and even if you die, He will raise you up. If you are left living, you will be caught up and meet the Lord in the air. What an amazing event and hope!  This is the promise of the God of the Bible. You have hope amid the hopelessness of this world.

Now Listen! What is in store for this world is briefly described in 2nd Peter 3:10-13? Listen, it says! “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in them will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed. In that way, everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in them will melt with heat. But God made a promise to us, and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.”

Friend, May I ask you, do you have this hope in this hopeless world? As the Bible informs, you are one day closer to your death or the destruction of this world. Do you know God loves you and sent Jesus Christ for your salvation and eternal life? Did you trust in Jesus yet?

If not, would you pray now? “God, you said let my heart not be troubled. You asked me to believe in God and Jesus Christ. I believe in God and the ONLY Savior, Jesus, who died, buried and rose again for my salvation and eternal life. Please save me today so that I will be with you forever, and with that hope, I may receive divine strength and encouragement. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

One Thing Over All Others!

“I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23.

We have many choices in life. However, It all boils down to two important ones- either we please God, or we please men around us. All our decisions can be funneled through this fundamental choice- am I pleasing God or Am I pleasing people in this choice? We have many demands in life. People have expectations of us, and many things are at war demanding our attention and time. However, the first thing should be first. We should not allow the second thing to become the first thing in our life. Jesus said, “He will give them (all the rest) to you if you give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to.” (TLB).

In short, our today’s insight says life has many choices. I am allowed to do anything- but remember not everything is good for you. Galatians 5:13 says, “for you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” You have freedom in Christ. Christ delivered us from the slavery of the devil and granted us full freedom. You are allowed to do anything. However, remember not everything is beneficial to you. Not everything is good for you. You can use your freedom to choose what you like as you mature in this life. However, although these are permissible, not everything would be helpful to you. Not everything would help you to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for your life. Therefore, be cautious to be careful about what you choose. 

Apart from pleasing people and improper exercise of our liberty in the Lord, there are other things that distract one from doing God’s will. One biggy is our past. Some sad and painful things that happened in the past can divert our focus from God’s plan. If you want to do God’s will, you have to let the past go period! If you keep on looking back, you cannot advance in God’s beautiful and divine plan. You cannot make you stuck in your past.

Understand, we still live in this sin-bound world. We have not arrived in heaven as of yet. People will hurt you again in the future. What are you going to do? Sit down and weep over it for the rest of your life? Give the matter to the Lord and move on with God’s plan for your life. He can deal with it better than you ever deal with it. Cast your burden upon the Lord because He cares for you. The devil likes you brooding over your past so that he can stop your progress in the Lord. Cast it on the Lord, dust it off, and move forward-leaning and trusting the good Lord. 

Jesus said, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62. What is this mean? This means if anyone gets distracted from the work God planned for him, then He cannot fulfill God’s plan in his life. In short, we cannot give priority to many things at the same time and hope we can achieve God’s plan for our lives. It is simply impossible.

Keep your focus on God’s plan and purpose for your life. One thing over all others.

Beloved, got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I want to do your will and work that you planned for me. I surrender myself to become the channel of your blessings to others. I believe Jesus Christ died and rose again for all my sins. I accept Him as my savior and Lord. Show me what you want me to do while I live in this world before I come to you. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

The Mighty Lord Who Inclines to our prayers! He Delivers And Establishes the Goings!

“I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he had put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” Psalms 40:1-3.

David penned this Psalm from his life experiences. If nothing else we learn and remember from today’s insight, do not forget this vital truth about our Lord. Our Lord is a saving God who delivers, restores and brings a new fresh beginning in your lives. Beloved, none of us, no human being, is perfect. We all wish if we could go back and undo some of our actions and decisions of the past, don’t we? Be truthful! Aren’t you glad that we have a God who restores us from our failures? I want to promise you God of the Bible is the God who not only saves your soul but also grants you eternal life in heaven with God. However, He is also God who restores and recovers us when we come back to Him and admit our failures. Psalm 23:3 says, “He (The Lord) restores my soul.” The tense of the verb is a simple present tense. An ongoing truth with no shadow of a doubt. The sun rising at the east is a simple ongoing truth. The Lord restores our soul is a simple constant truth.

God of the Bible is the God of hope. (Romans 15:13). He is the God of all compassion (Isaiah 30:18). He is God’s new growth and beginning. (Isaiah 43:18-19). David personally experienced this from our Lord, and that is why he wrote these words, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he had put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”

In the midst of David’s failures, David called out and cried to the Lord. He waited patiently for the Lord. One day, the Lord inclined to him. He brought him out of the miry clay. No one else could and would do this for David. However, God did by Himself in His supernatural power. The Lord set his feet on a rock. The Lord established his goings again. He put a new song in David’s mouth, praises to God. This miraculous restoration and recovery were visible to many people around him. The people feared God and trusted in such a faithful and trustworthy God.

Dearly beloved, I fully believe the Lord God of the Bible is the only God who saves, gives you eternal life, and more than all He restores and recovers you when you cry out to Him. Did you fall by your circumstances? Is your life now crashed by your past decisions or the wrong choices you made? I am here to announce this heavenly message to you-you come to Jesus Christ and call upon his matchless name, He will supernaturally deliver and restore you.

If you are a believer, but something happened that crashed you, please do not listen to people around you. God who delivered David and Moses is your God. You may ask how can I get back again. Dear friend, if Jacob was a deceiver and liar, Noah was a drunk man, Abraham was a person who took matters into his own hand, Moses was a murderer, David was murderer and adulterer, Jonah was a runner from God, Rahab was a harlot, Elijah was in depression and ready to quit, Peter was a denier of Jesus and God intervened in their life, then God can and would make you stand again if you turn back to Him and cry out to Him. If God gave new beginnings to Judah from their bondage in Babylon, from their stubborn sins, God would do the same to you. God of the Bible is the God of brand new beginnings. May no man say to you that you are a failure. 

I want to infuse God’s fresh breath into your life. God has a big plan in store for you. He wants to use you for His glory in this world that desperately needs to see the delivering power of Him. Turn to Him, call upon Him in prayer and wait patiently for Him. Many will see it, fear God, and trust in Him.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I believe you are my savior. I pray for restoration, recovery, and new beginnings in my life. Lord, I am like a tree cut down. Make it grow again Lord by your divine power. I believe your Son, Jesus Christ, died and rose again for all of my sins. I accept Him as my savior and Lord. I cry out to you and wait on you, Lord. Thank you for saving and delivering me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”