R.D SOUZA Saved by faith

*Who are you?*

*Titus 1:1* - /Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of
the truth which accords with godliness,/

Firstly I like to apologize to God and to you for delaying this message
which was to be sent yesterday. I got myself busy with things, some
which were important but some which were not (therefore today you may
receive 2 messages).

Let me start explaining this message with assuming we have a large
mansion with many workers, some for housekeeping, some for cooking, some
drivers, some electrical maintenance etc.

Now imagine the cook coming home and dusting the place well. He really
works hard to keep the place spick and span. The driver too come home
and starts dusting the place like the cook. Every day they come and they
work hard to keep the place clean and to impress the master of the
house. As a master what would your reaction be? You may be tolerant for
some time because of your patient and merciful nature but then you will
soon get angry for no cooking is happening and no one is driving the
cars or maintaining the electric system. When the cars start to fail and
the lights of the house shut, you will surely lose your cool.

In the Kingdom of God this is what is happening. People are working hard
for God's Kingdom but there are hardly few who are doing the job they
are assigned to do. Most are introduced through the housekeeping
department and even though they were selected for other assignments they
are still doing the job of housekeeping (cleanliness) , the department
which introduced them.

Almost all of us came through a spiritual guide (like a child through a
mother); in the initial period the child is connected to the mother via
the umbilical cord. It is via this cord the child gets nourishment
required for growth, strength and continuance of life. But as the child
comes out of the mother's womb the child needs to be physically
disconnected from the mother and the cord cut. The mother still may
support and care the child in other ways but that too stops as the child
starts becoming more independent. It is only if the child grows that one
day the child with mother other children.

In the Kingdom of God, few do the work of spiritual mothering all others
remain children for ever. Majority of the believers are spiritually
connected via the umbilical cord for the rest of their life. The main
issue is with the mother who does not let the child grow and sometimes
with the child who has the fear to moving out.

There are few who do not have a spiritual mother but have one or many
surrogate mothers like in my case. It was the Lord who directly changed
my life and bought me to Him and not through a person. No doubt there
were people who helped me in my initial stage of growing like building
faith and patience.

Whatever may be your way of coming to the Lord or whoever may the person
who brings you to the Lord, there will always be a time for you to move
out and be led by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus Himself did not continue
to lead His disciples after finishing building their basic foundation,
why are we being smarter than Jesus Christ. We too should like Him hand
them over to the Holy Spirit to be led by Him.

They may fall a few times in the start but that fear does not cause a
mother to encourage her child to take his or her first steps, then why
do we? Imagine full grown humans been carried like little children, and
we are all okay with it!

If you have a desire to work for the Lord's vineyard as given by the
Lord. You need to become what the Lord as called you to do, the job He
has assigned you with. It is the Holy Spirit Who is our foundation in
the Body of Christ - the Church. No one else can guide you better than
Him. In the initial stage when your communication is not well with the
Holy Spirit, the Lord would communicate through others, but soon you
need to get in direct touch with Him and avoid the possible corruption
when having second hand communication.

It is only when we understand the Holy Spirit (the 7 Spirits of God)
will we understand the calling and the job in the callings.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, You humbled Yourself so that man would understand your ways and
your Kingdom. Lord, You alone are the true Good Shepherd and we are
called to lead others to You. Lord forgive us for the times we have
tried to take your place in the lives of people we are called to lead
and also ask forgiveness for the times we have got stuck to man, giving
your place to them. Your Body has different parts and well defined
function in the Word and we pray your people become part of your fully
functional Body and bring it to glory and not make it a Frankenstein. ..

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*1 Corinthians 12:27-30*
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,
helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers
of miracles?
30Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all
interpret?

*Ephesians 4:8-12*
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ:

*Isaiah 11:1-2*
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

--
-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail
Forwarding a mail I received...

Simon Greenleaf a former Atheist who was one of the most influential
Lawyers ever, proved that the Bible was an authority to be used and
trusted in all situations and that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was
a proven fact of history. Also, many other people, in all fields, all
through out history, who have honestly studied the matter, have come to
the same conclusions.

So Christ as a historical personage can not be doubted even if some
choose not to belief the reason He was here.

Here are some facts no one can disprove:

Simon Greenleaf views and ideas and facts are still used today in
Colleges and Universities to teach about legal evidence and different
areas about Law.

Simon Greenleaf was a famous atheist Lawyer until he tried to disprove
the Bible and tried to prove that Jesus Christ did not exist, he then
became a famous Christian Lawyer who was also a great Christian Apologist.

Simon Greenleaf used logical arguments and legal evidence rules that
proved the Bible was an authority to be used and trusted in all
situations and that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a proven fact
of history.

No one has yet disproved any of those facts even in this Yahoo Group.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition

"Professor Simon Greenleaf" in "Leading Lawyer's Case for the
Resurrection" by Ross Clifford

John Warwick Montgomery, "Simon Greenleaf," Eternity magazine, November
1986, p. 21.

"Simon Greenleaf," in Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 4, Allen
Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds. New York: Charles Scribners, pp 583--584.

Philip Johnson, "Juridical Apologists 1600-2000 AD: A
Bio-Bibliographical Essay," Global Journal of Classical Theology, 3/1
(2002).

Greenleaf, Simon. Papers, 1792-1853: Finding Aid.
Repository: Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University
Location: Harvard Depository
Call No.: HOLLIS 601717
Creator: Greenleaf, Simon, 1783-1853
Title: Papers, 1792-1853
Quantity: 26 boxes (24,000 items)
Abstract: Contains Greenleaf's professional and personal correspondence,
notes for moot court, material relating to Christ Church, Cambridge and
the Massachusetts Bible Society, and miscellaneous legal materials.
Papers concern temperance, Harvard Law School, and the colonization of
Liberia. Correspondents include Joseph Story, Lemuel Shaw, Charles
Sumner, and Willard Witte.

http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Simon_Greenleaf
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Simon_Greenleaf>

http://www.law. umkc.edu/ faculty/projects /ftrials/ jesus/greenleaf. html
<http://www.law. umkc.edu/ faculty/projects /ftrials/ jesus/greenleaf. html>

http://www.av1611. org/resur. html <http://www.av1611. org/resur. html>

http://www.brainyqu ote.com/quotes/ authors/s/ simon_greenleaf. html
<http://www.brainyqu ote.com/quotes/ authors/s/ simon_greenleaf. html>

God Bless


*Being a**Christian*

*Luke 1: 77-78*
/77To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of
their sins,/
/78Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on
high hath visited us,/
/79To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of peace./

*Luke 1: 77-78* (Interlinear translation)
/To give knowledge of salvation to the people of Him by forgiveness of
sins of them, because of (the) bowels of mercy of God of us, whereby
will visit us east (sunrise) from high, to appear to the (ones) in
darkness and in a shadow of death sitting, to guide the feet of us into
a way of peace./

When Zacharias the father of John the Baptist prophesied about John it
was not a prophecy for him alone. In the New Testament the first
Christian was John the Baptist and this prophecy is an instruction for
each and every Christian.

Preaching, evangelizing and witnessing Christ is not the job of a select
few who stand on stages but is the primary job of each and every
Christian. Can I be living in (born, bought up and resident) Bangladesh
and say I am British? To be citizen of a country I need to be residing /
residence of that country.

In Spirit world we become a citizen of the place we dwell in and there
is no non-residence citizenship there. The moment we are far from a
place for long we can lose citizenship of that place.

Today's message tells us that salvation is not for all but only His
people. Although all have sinned and are dwelling in the east, the Lord
because of His merciful nature has sent us His Son to give Light (reveal
Himself) to all (His people only) who do not know Him.

Spirit world is not like our world and everything there is relative to
God. A place far from God means the inhabitants of that place do not
know Him or His ways and are called people of darkness or dweller of the
east. East is left and west is right, right is not to do with direction
but to do with righteousness. A person who walks in righteousness is one
who dwells in spiritual west or on the right hand of the Lord.

Heaven is up does not mean really up for the earth is round and there is
no North Pole star there. God is the Polar star, the Sun and the center
of everything and He is not a body but spirit, so not a physical
reference but reference only by His Nature. The primary reference of Him
is His Holiness, His Righteousness and Light (Truth). No one else can be
given these references for every other being even in Heaven lack these
before Him.

When man sinned man willingly chose to be far from God and therefore God
cut Himself from man and therefore man does not know Him at all. To know
God first man needed to be forgiven of his sins and then by knowing
Jesus Christ man comes to know God and come to dwell in His Kingdom.

People who love darkness are not God's people, people who do not love
life are not God's people, people who do not love peace are not God's
people, people who love sin are not God's people and to such people the
message of peace through Jesus Christ does not make any sense. Even
those who hear the message and believe in Jesus Christ are not truly His
people even though they may be of His flock. For receiving the
forgiveness of sins is only half the part of being Christian the second
half calls us to know God, receive His Light and walk in His ways.

Most Christians do the first half and think they will reach Heaven. They
are fooled by Satan and their own stupidity. Sitting in a car does reach
you to any place but only when the car is started, driven and guided to
its destination would we reach the place we want.

Open your spiritual eyes as see; you will find thousands and thousands
of Christians sitting in parked cars thinking they will reach their
destination. If you too are in such a state, wake up today before
laziness and stiffness of limbs engulf you totally.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, You are the manifestation of the mercy of God and by You
alone man receives forgiveness of sins and comes into the process to
know God and have eternal life. Although your message was for all but
You came only for your people, for your sheep. In your flock are sheep
and goats. On Judgment Day You will separate the goats from the sheep
and the goats will be put in the lake of fire while only the sheep will
enter the House your Father. Lord, we prayer your message of forgiveness
reach to all your people by those who have heard it and we also prayer
more and more do not stop there but continue the journey to know You and
walk your ways...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Genesis 3:24*So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life.

*John 17:9-10*
9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me; for they are thine.
10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

*Matthew 25:31-33*
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

*John 10:25-29*
25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I
do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

--
-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*The Lord will bring down the fortified cities of this world*

*Zephaniah 1:16 *- /A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced
cities, and against the high towers./

Since past few years people are seeing great changes happening, the
world over. These include natural disasters, chaos in different parts of
the world; before that there were sudden popping of new diseases and
start of famines in various parts of the world. People may say such
things have been happening even before, but just think, when did all
these happen together in such short period of time?

Of late we read of a great country like America getting economical
shaken up and soon other major countries in Europe are failing heel to
these economic shaking.

Sometimes back in the month of May some people close to me and well to
do were comparing their worldly prosperity with mine and commented on
their so called blessings as reward for all the traditions they followed
which are void of God. I was not aware of this conversation but the
night before, I was given a message but the Lord of what was stored near
to the end of the monsoons.

The Lord had shown me the judgment and disasters which He will bring
upon these high head people who live on hills.

In today's message the Lord says we are living in a time of prophesy
(trumpet). These days are days before the Day of the Lord's revenge (not
to be confused with the Judgment Day). The Lord is slow to anger but He
stores His wrath for people who are stiff necked. People who know Him,
have been blessed by Him and have seen His glory and are still far from Him.

The Lord says in today's message people who think they have money or
property or good jobs or businesses which will take provide for them and
save them in the time of trouble, they need to wake up. They may be
Christians, going to church or services or outreaches but in their
personal life Lord has no place.

The Lord is not a patient or an abundant old aged person whom you visit
once a week or once a month and give some things to content yourself of
being good. He is our God and Creator and Provider and Giver of Life. It
does not take Him a nanosecond to disconnect our life system or remove
the carpet under our feet and turn our world upside down.

The Lord in fact is warning us soon He is going to shake the world of
these so called fake Christians who have confidence in what they have.
They may be saying prayers but their prayers are just babblings and make
no sense to God nor do they hardly give thought to what they say. Their
lives are void of God, they may do charity to show people they are good
or to contend themselves but the hidden things they do in life is like
blood on their hands. The Lord says when they lift these hands up for
prayer it angers Him.

Not that there is any person who is good but when people do wrong and
try to justify them as good or think God does not see their deeds and
they come before Him in white robes, angers Him.

When the Lord showed me these people He showed me as people living in
caves on hills (high places). The Lord showed me 2 types of disasters
which will take place to these people. You may be a country which calls
yourself a Christian country, you may be a church or ministry which
calls itself a Christian church or ministry, you may be an individual
who calls yourself a Christian, but if you are one of those who have
built for yourself a fortified walls and a comfort zone, the Lord is
going to soon ruffle your nest.

You may feel the Lord is being harsh but in fact it is His mercy that He
is doing all this. He is doing it so as to wake these people up and save
them from the real disaster which will follow after all this.

So let all of us who are in this category wake up to this trumpet call
and turn our ways to the Lord.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord God, your Throne is make of sapphire and the ground around You is
made of sapphire for your Throne is Mercy and it is your mercy that does
not destroy us when we come before your presence. No man was found
worthy and it was in your mercy that You came and became our Corner
Stone. Your ways are not man's ways for your world is not man's world.
Your wisdom is not understood by man, but it is by your Son and your
Spirit that we come to know You. Father God, You revealed us your Son,
your Son reveals us your Spirit and your Spirit reveals You to us. Work
in us Lord and save your people from the real disaster...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Zephaniah 1:14-18*
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly,
even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there
bitterly.
15That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of
wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of
clouds and thick darkness,
16A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against
the high towers.
17And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind
men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be
poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in
the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the
fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all
them that dwell in the land.

*Proverbs 6:16-19*
16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination
unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in
running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren.

*Isaiah 59:1-8*
1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither
his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your
sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
3For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in
vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
5They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth
of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
6Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover
themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the
act of violence is in their hands.
7Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood:
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in
their paths.
8The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their
goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall
not know peace.

*Ezekiel 23:36-45*
36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah
and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
37That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and
with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused
their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire,
to devour them.
38Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary
in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
39For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came
the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they
done in the midst of mine house.
40And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom
a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash
thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
41And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it,
whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
42And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the
men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which
put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit
whoredoms with her, and she with them?
44Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the
harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
45And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of
adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because
they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*Things in us, which can separate us from the love of Christ*

*Romans 8:35* - /Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword?/

In today's message the Lord is telling us even though His love is so
great there are things which can separate us from His love. Some of
these things may seem normal and we ignore their power in separating us
from the love of Jesus Christ.

*Tribulation* : the word used here means /pressure/. When we come under
pressure we can easily distance ourselves from the love of Christ. When
we know God then pressure should not exist in our lives. We think
pressure is normal because the world tells us so, but been in pressure
means distancing ourselves from the power of God and His greatest power
for us is the manifestation of His love.

*Distress*: this word literally means /narrow place/. People who are in
distress are people who put themselves in a narrow place. They are
people who make their world small so much that they live alone in their
world. Rejecting the existence of God also means rejecting His love.

*Persecution* : means /facing resistance or problems due to belief or
living life as the Nature of God asks us to/. People think persecution
is bad but in reality is strengthens our relation with the Lord. Like
Paul says when he was weak he was the strongest in faith. Not that we
should pray for persecution or pursue it but when it comes we should
rejoice for by overcoming it, it brings us to know the love of our Lord
better. Submitting or coming under persecuting separates from the Lord
and His love.

*Famine*: this word has 2 meanings for it means /lack of harvest/.
Lack of harvest for each one means lack of Manna the Heavenly food or
the understanding of the Word of God. Continually not pursuing the
spiritual food which God gives great importance to, is indirectly
rejecting God.
Harvest also refers to people of God. Lack of fellowship is like a
famine in our lives. We have the wrong notion that being exclusive or
introvert helps us spiritually and that is the lie of the devil. There
is a difference between socializing and fellowshipping. Lord is telling
us to fellowship not socialize. Building people and our bonds of love
with the people of God reinforces our love with the Lord.

*Nakedness*: this does not have to do with clothes. It has to do with
/fleshy desires/. In the book of Moses the Lord said a person showing
his or her nakedness to his brother or sister would be cut off from His
people. It was to do with the one's fleshy desires or lustfulness of a
person. When we are deep in desire of anything earthly we stand naked
spiritually. The Bible says such persons are thrown out of the Lord's
Kingdom.

*Peril*: the word means uncertainty. Many Christians use the word 'luck'
and do not understand the danger of this term. We are people who know
our God is in control of everything and when we believe in luck or
uncertainty we are rejecting either God or His power or His omnipotence.

*Sword*: this is an interesting fact. /The Word of God/ is called the
Sword of God. His Word has 2 sides to it. It can be the Rock that saves
us when we accept it or our stumbling rock when we reject it. This
double edges sword can protect us and lead our way towards God or can
destroy us when we come against it.

So we see many of these factors were to us not so relevant and we did
not understand the danger of being in them. Today the Lord has exposed
these dangers, so let us be alert and make sure we keep ourselves far
from them and closer to His love. Being in the Lord meaning living His
Nature helps us overcome these factors and makes us conquerors.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, by becoming our sacrificial Lamb, You expressed your love
for us. The depth of your sacrifice has been hidden from man and no man
can ever comprehend it. Like John wrote no amount of books ever would
able to record all that You have done. We thank You Lord for
enlightening us of the dangers of these factors that can disconnect us
from You. We are conquers in You and when in You these things have no
power over us. Help us Lord remain in You so as to overcome these areas
if we are in them and never to reject your love for your love is all
that holds us to You and to our spirit life...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Romans 8:31-39*
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?
32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us.
38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*Peter was selected to lead*

*Luke 24:12* - /Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and
stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and
departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass./

How would it be if in the place of the head, the stomach is put right on
the top? Such a thing is unimaginable for us but we do not realize in
the Church we have made the body of Christ into worse than a Frankenstein.

The hierarchy of the labours of the Lord's Vineyard (not rulers) has
been given in the Bible and was followed by the early Church of the
Apostles. This system was given by the Lord even during the time of
Moses (in the understanding of the dress of the High Priest - Aaron) but
was never followed for the Word was never understood until Jesus came
and revealed it.

It is very sad that the Nicolaitan system penetrated in the Church after
the early Apostles' Church. One of the main points of misunderstanding
which caused this was to do with Peter being selected to lead the
fellowship. During the time of Peter, he did not set any system which
has been followed today in his name but it was only after his death that
this system came into existence in his name.

Peter being selected had nothing to do with his name and his name in
Greek does not mean 'rock' as most are told but means 'pebble' or 'small
stone'. But it was true that Peter was selected to lead the fellowship
and the confirmation was in the scripture which we received today.

In today message the Lord is telling us how Peter was selected to lead
the fellowship when he did something according to the book of Moses.

After the news of Jesus' resurrection reached the disciples, they went
to the tomb to confirm in the book of John this same event is given more
clearly where even though John reached the tomb earlier he did not enter
the tomb nor touch the linen cloth laid on the floor. It was Peter who
entered and bending down took hold of the cloth. Peter was fulfilling
the instructions according to the book of Moses in which the High Priest
entered the Holy of Holies and after offering the blood sacrifice on the
Mercy Seat would drop his linen cloth on the floor and the one who was
to take his position would enter and take hold of that cloth.

Peter leading the fellowship did not mean he was boss but meant he was
the greater servant among them. One can see the coordination among the
fellowship by reading the book of Acts. All that Paul did he updated the
fellowship but did not wait for instructions from them to do everything.
He and others were led by the Holy Spirit and did according to the Holy
Spirit, but being part of a body they did coordinate between each other.
Not that there was no misunderstanding between them but this
misunderstanding did not come between their work nor did it last long.

The Bible is called the Book of Instructions. It gives us the Lord's
instructions on how the Lord wants us to do things, for it is the only
way which will succeed in achieving good. Any other way may seem good
but will not achieve anything good; over the long run everything will be
exposed by its fruits.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, You are all knowing and all seeing. You have seen the past, the
present and the future and You know what is good and therefore gave is
your Word to guide us to all goodness. Before You came as man, no one
understood the Word, it was only when the Word was made flesh (a
message) which could be received by man that the Word started being
revealed to man. Lord, your Temple still needs to be bought back in
glory and your labourers are been made confused by the Beast. Lord, open
the minds of your people and reveal the Word unto your people...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*John 20:3-8*
3Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went
toward the tomb.
4And they ran both together: and the other disciple outran Peter, and
came first to the tomb;
5and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths lying; yet
entered he not in.
6Simon Peter therefore also cometh, following him, and entered into the
tomb; and he beholdeth the linen cloths lying,
7and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen
cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.
8Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came first to
the tomb, and he saw, and believed.

*Revelation 1:1-7*
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he
that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst
of the seven golden candlesticks;
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst
not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they
are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast
laboured, and hast not fainted.
4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy
first love.
5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate.
7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life,
which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

*Leviticus 16:15-33*
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the
people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as
he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy
seat, and before the mercy seat:
16And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the
uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their
transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle
of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their
uncleanness.
17And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when
he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out,
and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for
all the congregation of Israel.
18And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make
an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of
the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
19And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven
times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the
children of Israel.
20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the
tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
21And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all
their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of
the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness:
22And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not
inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
23And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and
shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the
holy place, and shall leave them there:
24And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on
his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the
burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for
the people.
25And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.
26And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes,
and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
27And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin
offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy
place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in
the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
28And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh
in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh
month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and
do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger
that sojourneth among you:
30For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse
you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
31It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your
souls, by a statute for ever.
32And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to
minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the
atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
33And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall
make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the
altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the
people of the congregation.

*Matthew 16:15-18*
15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven.
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock
[Truth] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Bring in the crowd*

*Mark 3:20 *- /Then the multitude came together again, so that they
could not so much as eat bread./

In today's scripture we read about a very large crowd getting gathered
in the house where Jesus meets with His disciples. Just some time back
Jesus was at Tyre and Sidon where a large crowd was gathered around Him
and it was a time when He allowed His anointing to manifest such that
any person who touched Him would be healed or delivered. This caused a
problem for Him because the evil spirits in the people would make the
persons to fall down before Him and shout out that He was 'the Son of
God'. Jesus had to command them not to declare this for the time was not
right. He even went on a boat so as to keep away from the crowd.

In the house the crowd was even much more and we see that this happened
after Jesus selected and bought together His twelve disciples whom He
wanted to prepare to do the job of preaching unto the whole world and
bring them into authority to heal and deliver. Jesus had many others in
the troupe who usually were with Him but He selected only twelve as per
the design of the Kingdom of God like God maintained the number twelve
with the tribes of Israel.

The most important agenda for most preachers today or most Churches are
to fill the church or hall with maximum people. The prime focus is the
crowd since with the crowd comes fame and money.

In the early Church of the Apostles we read that when they did what was
right in the eyes of God, it was the Lord Who added people to the
congregation. They did not resort to publicity campaigns or tricks or
threats or promotions to get people in the congregations.

With Jesus we read it was by the knowledge of Who He was that people
gathered around Him and the second time when He did according to the
Will of His Father that people gathered around Him.

If we know who we are in God that itself will cause people to be drawn
unto us. And to get even more people we need to also follow the
instructions of the Lord God.

We need to always remember that it is the Lord Who is the Lord of the
Harvest. It is He Who gives us the harvest. If we are struggling to find
people to preach or people are exiting the Church we need to introspect
and see if we are knowledgeable of who we as Christians are in the Lord
and if we are following His instructions?

The Jewish High Priest to gather people in the synagogue on the feast of
the Passover conspired with the Pharisees to crucify Jesus. We need to
ask ourselves are we too again crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ so as to
fill our Churches or our Ministries, for fame and money.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, we pray for the Shepherds You have appointed to lead your sheep
may they try to do your work with their own efforts and intelligence. We
pray they following your instructions and be aware of who they represent
on this earth. You are Lord of the Host, Almighty and Omnipotent. You
are also the Lord of the Harvest and it is up to your discreet as to how
much to give and to whom. You love your flock and would not like any
harm be done against them...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Mark 3:7-15*
7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great
multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they
about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great
things he did, came unto him.
9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him
because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to
touch him, as many as had plagues.
11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and
cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would:
and they came unto him.
14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he
might send them forth to preach,
15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

*Acts 2:44-47*
44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as
every man had need.
46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and
singleness of heart,
47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved.

*Acts 5:3-14*
3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to
the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine
heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and
great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not
knowing what was done, came in.
8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so
much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to
tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried
thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth,
buried her by her husband.
11And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard
these things.
12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought
among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people
magnified them.
14And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men
and women.)

*Acts 11:19-24*
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose
about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
20And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were
come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed,
and turned unto the Lord.
22Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which
was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far
as Antioch.
23Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and
exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the
Lord.
24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and
much people was added unto the Lord.


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*Getting recognized as a Christian*

*Mark 14:67* - /And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon
him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth./

We as Christians need to realize the dangerous truth that once we become
Christians, which means that once we make Jesus Christ our Lord and
Master and start to walk in His Word, then there is no way back to the
life we came from.

A Christian is easily identifiable from the people of this world and the
people of this world will not take time to point us out as being
Christian. Even if we slide back and try to turn back to previous ways
of life, it would not take time for any person of this world to know
that there is something different about us.

I have numerous testimonies of people who tried to back lid to their
previous way of life but landed in such great disasters that they would
not have imagined. We need to understand there is not turning back to
the point we came from. The moment we step forward in our spiritual life
the land behind us tilts / slopes downwards. So a step behind will not
allow us to stay in that place, it will keep taking is right down.
Therefore if we slide back we need to immediately comeback; if we delay
we will keep sliding more and more backwards even if we try to stay still.

Being a Christian makes us stand out of the people of this world. Our
ways are not like their ways, our thoughts are not like their thoughts
and our priorities are not like their priorities.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, You came as man and became the Light of the world, as your
disciples we too are to become a light unto others, shining your Light
which is in us. Lord, we pray that by your Spirit we living in this
world be not like the people of this world but more and more stand out
as your people emitting your glory amongst us. Lord, we pray for all
those who are spiritually not moving ahead or have slide back, that your
grace be abundant on them and they move ahead...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Matthew 5:13-16*
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to
be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid.
15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

*John 3:18-21*
18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not
is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.
19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be
made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

*John 17:14-17*
14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

*Romans 12:1-2*
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

--

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*The Great Exchange*

*2 Corinthians 5:21* - /For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew
no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him./

We have always been told about the 'Great Exchange' on the crucifix,
where Jesus took all our sins on Himself so that we become righteous in
Him. In today's message Paul explains this 'Great Exchange' very
beautifully.

He uses the words '/we might be made the righteousness of God in Him'/;
He does not say we are completely made righteous but uses the word 'might'.

Many think by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus in our lives we are made
righteous, this is not fully true. It also cannot be termed fully wrong.

Jesus had no sin in Him and He took the sins of man on Himself when man
laid hands on His head while placing the crown of thorns on Him, like it
was done in the book of Moses where hands were laid on the head of the
sacrifice to transfer the sins on to the sacrifice.

If we read a few scriptures before, Paul clearly states the main purpose
of Jesus' sacrifice was to reconcile man to God. Paul again and again
emphasises on reconciliation; that we need to continue and pursue this
reconciliation. The Greek word '*katallasso* ' translated as
reconciliation at places is also translated as 'exchange'. The word is
made of 2 words 'after' and 'change'. The word reconciliation or
exchange does not mean a swap but means a start of a process which
finishes with a complete change.

When Jesus said '/it is finished/' on the crucifix He did not mean He
completely saved us and we all who believe in Him are going to Heaven.
No doubt all who believe in Him will be 'saved' and will not go to Hell
but it also does not mean we will go to Heaven.

Jesus said only those who overcome and in some places He states only
those who keep His Father's Word will enter Heaven when He comes again
to judge us.

What Jesus did on the crucifix is He completed the process required to
begin the change of man to become sons of God. That is why after the
sacrifice Jesus gave us the Helper - the Holy Spirit of God to continue
the process of change.

Thus the Great Exchange of the Cross of Jesus means our commitment to
Jesus to change. This change needs to begin from inside. It starts with
our belief, then our nature and then our habits and way of life.

If we state we have done The Exchange and do not change and continue the
change then we are fooling ourselves and trying to fool God.

Let us look at ourselves from the day we accepted Jesus into our lives
and ourselves today and let us make an assessment of how much we have
changed and gauge our commitment to the Great Exchange.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, we thank You for being our sacrifice. You took our sins on
You and became the peace sacrifice. You started the reconciliation
process between God and man. Lord with You coming into my life, my life
has not been the same. Lord, we pray this continues and we become
completely different. Let this change prove we are no longer children of
Adam but God's children and grafted in You...

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*2 Corinthians 5:15-21*
15And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth
live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we
have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation.
20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him.

*Matthew 7:21-23*
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.
22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done
many wonderful works?
23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity.

*John 5:26-29*
26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself;
27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of man.
28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice,
29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

*Ephesians 2:13-16*
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken
down the middle wall of separation,
15having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new
man from the two, thus making peace,
16and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the
cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

*John 19:30*When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It
is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

*John 17:4-10*
4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.
5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of
the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept
thy word.
7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are
of thee.
8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they
have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and
they have believed that thou didst send me.
9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me; for they are thine.
10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

*John 16:7-15*
7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go
away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I
depart, I will send Him to you.
8"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment:
9"of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10"of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11"of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you
into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever
He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it
to you.
15"All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He
will take of Mine and declare it to you.

*-*-*-*-* -*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*The True Knowledge*

*1 Timothy 6:20* - /O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust,
avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is
falsely called knowledge/

Today's scripture has a tremendous depth to what Paul advices Timothy.
When I sat in the morning to write this message I had some trace but
situations did not allow me. Through this day many things happened but
when I sat to reflect on this message and some of the events that
happened today I realized the depth of today's message.

The Lord is telling us the knowledge we receive from the Bible is
priceless and we need to understand the value of it.

Today I was scanning through the TV channels I came across some of the
children movies which showed about goblins, fairies, ogres and soul
snatching etc. These movies brain wash the children and sow seeds of
occult and make it difficult for them to know the Truth.

As adults we know these worlds are unreal but children sometimes live in
these worlds. It may surprise you that even adults as so influenced by
these fantasy world that they have mixed the Truth with these fantasy
world. For example they imagine Angels to be like fairies females with
wings. Firstly the Angels are addressed as male (not that they are like
earthly males) and like I wrote before all beings in Heaven have the
same gender male. Secondly Angels have no wings, nor a body of flesh
like we do. They are spirit beings and have powers to take any form,
like appear as a human in the flesh. The spirit world is more real than
the natural world we live in.

We adults laugh at the children when they speak of fairy land but we do
not realize our world itself is like a fairy land and the real world is
the spirit world. We the children of God are children of spirit and thus
aliens in this world.

Like Paul advised Timothy, the Lord is advising us not to get lost in
the knowledge of this world. The word translated as knowledge is also
translated as science in the New Testament. It means the knowledge of
this world which we take as science or consider as unchangeable are as
Paul states as idle babbling, profane and untrue. That does not mean we
turn a blind eye to all that exist. If we eye all that God created in
its true understanding we too will say like God did 'it is good'.
Scriptures state when the whole Truth will come into man nature will
submit to man. Like commanded the storm it obeyed so also all creation,
animal, bird etc. the whole of nature will obey. Man will have power
like sons of God (Angels).

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord God, You are Spirit and your Kingdom is Spirit Kingdom. Your
Kingdom is real and this world we live in is temporary. You created this
world with purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled all these cease to
exist. Your Word reveals the Truth, it gives us knowledge of your
Kingdom which is hidden from man. Lord, we pray that our faith increase
and we dwell more in the Truth and not what this world tells us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*1 Timothy 6:20-21*
20O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the
profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called
knowledge---
21by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with
you. Amen.

*Romans 8:19-22*
19For the earnest expectation of the creature [creation] waits for the
manifestation of the sons of God.
20For the creature [creation] was made subject to vanity, not willingly,
but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope,
21Because the creature [creation] itself also shall be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now.

*Genesis 1:27-31*
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have
given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

*Ephesians 2:18-19*
18For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

--

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*Pray for good conscience*

*Hebrews 13: 18,19* - /Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a
good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. But I
especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner./

In today's message the Lord highlights the one area where most Men and
Women of God fall and that is the (over) confidence they have with their
conscience.

Our soul or inner man is connected to our body by our five senses and to
our spirit by our conscience (which people call as sixth sense). People
usually mistake the control or discernment of our senses as conscience,
but actually conscience is to do with discernment of the communication
our inner man or heart has with the spirit world which includes our own
spirit, the Holy Spirit and even the evil spirits.

Like radio waves there is constant broadcast of communication in the
spirit world and it matters which channel we are tuned into as to what
we receive. The tuning is effected by the state of our heart, if our
heart is at unrest then there are very high chances that we will tune
into the evil spirit or our own spirit. To tune into the Holy Spirit we
need to keep our hearts at rest. The Lord says '/be still and know I am
God/'.

Most workers of the Lord's vineyard fail or get lost because they at
times think they are tuned with the Holy Spirit but instead were tuned
with their own spirit or at times communicate with an evil spirit.

We need always be on guard in this area and the only way is to do what
military persons do to identify communications - coding. We need to
decode every spiritual communication and this means to check it up with
the Word of God. If any communication does not tally with the Word of
God we can be sure it is not from the Holy Spirit. It may be an evil
spirit or even our own spirit trying to influence our minds. It is this
infiltration that causes many to become puppets in the hands of Satan or
weak in body, mind and spirit.Our spirit will be strong only when it
takes refuge in the Holy Spirit Who is the Rock of our salvation.

Let us who are workers of the Lord's vineyard not be over confidence but
always alert and those who are yet not become workers of the vineyard,
we request you always to keep the workers in prayer that this very
critical area the Lord protects by giving them a good conscience.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord as You said the people of this world can harm our bodies but if we
do not have a good conscience we can lose our soul. This worldly death
is nothing, but the second death - the death of our spirit is the real
death which we should be worried of. Lord we pray You give a good
conscience to all the workers of your vineyard. Protect their
discernment and help them to control their heart to be still in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Psalms 46:7-10*
7The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth.
9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts
the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.
10Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

*Matthew 10:28*
28"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

*Acts 23:1-2*
1 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
2And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike
him on the mouth.

*Romans 9:1*
1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing
me witness in the Holy Spirit,

*1 Corinthians 8:12*
12But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak
conscience, you sin against Christ.

*1 Timothy 1:5-7*
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, a good
conscience, and sincere faith,
6from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
7desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say
nor the things which they affirm.

--
*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-* -*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Complete change*

*Mark 5:15* - /And they come to Jesus, and see the demon possessed man,
sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind, and having had the legion
and they were afraid [seized with alarm]./

What we see in today's scripture the man possessed with a legion of evil
spirits and was delivered by Jesus was completely normal. Before that he
roamed naked and was very violent and now he was n clothed and acted
normal like any other person. There was a vast difference between his
behaviour when he was possessed and when he was free from the bondage.

If the man was asked about how he felt after being free he sure would
tell you the joy he had in him. It is written he wanted to follow Jesus
for the rest of his life but then Jesus sent him back to his family and
told him to tell his people how merciful God was with him. He went back
and not only told his people but went about the whole city proclaiming
about Jesus.

Most do not like to be under any bondage even if it is not demonic but
of the flesh. Some may enjoy it in the start but most hate it over a
period of time and look out for an escape from it. Their helplessness
and weakness may cause them to remain in it but given a choice of
freedom they would jump at it.

It was only the mercy of God that set him free from his bondage, and
abundant mercy or grace can only be received by faith. Therefore if we
need to be set free from whatever bondage we are it we need to build our
faith. No all of us may have the privilege to meet a person of authority
like that man did when he met Jesus. Even after being set free to remain
free we need to have faith. Jesus said a house from which an evil spirit
is driven out and if kept empty may cause that spirit to come back
bringing many more spirit even worse than it with it.

We all have bondages in varying measures, some very small and some large
and we all need deliverance. So let us concentrate on building faith in
those weak areas and cause that bondage to be broken. We should target
not only to be free from the bondage but also remain free with abundant
faith in us and always full of grace.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, with You came grace, for in You faith was made easy for man.
You made available your Spirit and through your Spirit of Truth You help
us multiply our faith. Help us Holy Spirit in our areas of weakness so
that by the revelation of the Truth we may be set free. We specially
prayer of those who are possessed or tormented by spirits and are your
children, we prayer Lord that your Messengers reach them and having
authority deliver them...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Matthew 17:14-21*
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain
man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for
often he falls into the fire, and oft into the water.
16And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.
17Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how
long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him here to me.
18And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child
was cured from that very hour.
19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we
cast him out?
20And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to
you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing
shall be impossible to you.
21However, this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.

*Matthew 12:43-45*
43When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry
places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44Then he said, I will return into my house from where I came out; and
when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.
45Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked
than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of
that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also to this
wicked generation.

*Mark 5:15-21*
15And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil,
and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and
they were afraid.
16And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed
with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
18And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with
the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy
friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and
hath had compassion on thee.
20And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things
Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side,
much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*His purpose for us*

*Colossians 1:20 *- /And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, whether
things in earth, or things in heaven./

Bible says God did not just create any thing just like that. It says God
created everything with a plan and a plan which is good. That means you
and me were given great thought by God before we were created. We were
not thought of somewhere on the way but right in the beginning before
all things were created we were in the plan of God. The Bible says God
knows us from the foundation of creation. That means when God thought of
creating Adam and Eve, He also thought of you and me.

God's plan included the smallest of details like He even counted every
strand of hair on our head. He knew our every thought, word and action
even before I could talk or walk, or open our eyes to see, yet the Bible
says He chose us to know Him and have purpose in Him. If He has chosen
us from the billions He created then who are we to call ourselves
failures or just normal beings.

We are special since we have a special purpose in the plan of God.
Today's message tells us our actually purpose of being created is to be
part of the Lord.

We read in scriptures which sometimes state the Lord appeared and the
very same situation is described in another place as an Angel appeared.
This is no recording problem but like we have a physical body but the
real us is our spirit and soul, in the similar way God the Son is Spirit
and the Angels beings form His body. Like He Himself is part of the
Godhead, of which God the Holy Spirit is part of and of which God the
Father is the Head of.

Scriptures say we will be like the Angels part of this glorious Body of
the Son of God, this union is the heavenly marriage we all are being
prepared for. Since God is Holy we too need to be made holy.

God hates sin and when we sinned His wrath was on us and to remove this
wrath the Son humbled Himself, came as man and by His sacrifice made
peace with God and by His Spirit prepares us to be reconciled unto
Himself. We along with the Heavenly Angels will be part of this glorious
Body of the Son.

Can we ever imagine what it would be to be part of this glorious Body,
shouldn't we be excited and at the same time grateful for the Sacrifice
who made peace and reconciled us.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, when You created all things even though they were good yet they
were not perfect and You knew nothing is perfect other than You and so
You planned to perfect all things in You. Your plans were hidden from
man until You came in the flesh and by your Spirit revealed your plan
unto us. Lord, we thank You for finding us worthy for your glorious plan
and for making us worthy...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Matthew 13:34-35*
34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and
without a parable spake he not unto them:
35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I
will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept
secret from the foundation of the world.

*Matthew 25:34*
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world:

*Ephesians 1:3-4*
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

*Exodus 3:1-2*
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of
Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to
the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of
the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with
fire, and the bush was not consumed.

*Acts 7:30-32*
30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the
wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
31When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to
behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
32Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

*Revelation 12:3-4*
3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast
them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready
to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

*Zechariah 13:8-9*
8And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two
parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them
as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall
call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and
they shall say, The LORD is my God.

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*The Royal Law*

*James 2:8* - /Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the
scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well:/

In today's message James calls one of the two commandments which Jesus
summarized all commandments into, as a Royal Law.

These two commandments do not replace the Law but by fulfilling these
two one lands up fulfilling all commandments in the Law. The Ten
Commandments, which were given were written on 2 tablets and they can be
grouped also into 2 categories, one towards God and other towards
people. The Royal Law also has 2 commandments one concerning God and
other people.

James goes on to state if one breaks any commandment he or she
transgresses against the one Who gave the Law and thus becomes a
transgressor. Thus it does not matter which commandment we break we
still become a transgressor.

The second Royal Law however specifies a category of people and thus
James put as 'you do well'. When Jesus used the term 'neighbor', He
specified a specific lot of people, and tried to explain it through His
parable of the Good Samaritan. There was a priest, a Levi and a
Samaritan who passed the injured man on the road but only the Samaritan
showed the nature of God in him and proved to be a child of God. Even in
the case of Paul when he was Saul although he was among those or even
led them to persecute the Christians; he himself did not stone or hurt
the Christians but arrested them and handed them over to the authorities.

We as Christians are called to love all people irrespective of what
religion except for those who with knowledge worship Satan, these we
need to keep far away. But when it comes to Children of God we need to
not just love them but love them as we love ourselves. Jesus explained
this quantity of love saying as much He loved us and we all know He even
gave up His life for the purpose of His love.

James also points out if we show partiality between one brethren and
another we are committing sin and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. This is one area where we all fail in one way or another.
When we say we love one child of God more than another than we
transgress against the second Royal Law.

Let us remember we may have more or else responsibility with one or
another but our love for every child of God should be the same.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You gave us the Law so that we may walk on the path of Truth and
know You. By your sacrifice You gave us abundant mercy by which the
consequence of the Law which is death was taken away from us. But we
cannot take your sacrifice for granted every time and make it valueless.
Lord, help us understand your plans and purpose in our lives and help us
love like You loved. Help us be more and more of You and less of us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*James 2:8-11*
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the
law as transgressors.
10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he
is guilty of all.
11For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."
Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a
transgressor of the law.

*Luke 10:25-37*
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou
shalt live.
29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my
neighbour?
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he
saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on
him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when
he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and
set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave
them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever
thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that
fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him,
Go, and do thou likewise.

*John 13:34-35*
34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.
35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one to another.

--
-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Connected in Spirit*

*Matthew 2:18* - /In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would
not be comforted, because they are not./

We all give great importance to our family relationship. We love our
mother, father, brothers, sisters and even those connected to the
family. It is very important as a Christian to know the purpose why God
instituted a family and went on to call it a Church in which He dwells.

Family relationships are earthly - our earthly father, our earthly
mother, brothers and sisters, they all will cease to be related in that
context the day we die or they die and leave the natural body.

Jesus stated in Heaven we would be like Angels. Heaven is a Spirit place
and those who dwell there are of spirit. The inhabitants in Heaven do
not have gender like earthly male and female. They are referred to in
only one gender 'male' and this has nothing to do with earthy male /
female but with the image (symbolic nature) in which man is created and
that is why Jesus refers to us as His brethren. In Heaven there is only
God and brethren to which all the Angels and all other Heavenly beings
belong to.

People do not realize calling another spiritual brother or sister has
great importance. When we call another believer brethren (brother or
sister), we extend or come into the spiritual net unto that person. For
example if that person is more spiritually grown then the protection on
that person is extended unto us, the blessings on that person is
extended unto us. The other way is also valid that is by calling another
spiritually growing person a brethren we extend our spiritual protection
and blessings on to that person. We people should realize the value of
calling each other brethren and how dangerous it is when someone
disconnects spiritually. Paul knowing this used this disconnection as
the last weapon against those who refuse to change and who continued
acting in the flesh. Paul literally called the disconnection as handing
over that person to the devil. By removing the spiritual protection Paul
exposed the person to spiritual attacks by Satan so that by this they
would come to senses and turn back to God; so we see this too was done
out of love, but as the last resort.

There is also another spiritual connection before we enter Heaven and is
related to how we enter this world.

In today's message it is written that Rachael wept when her descendants
the small babies who were killed by Herod in his bid to kill baby Jesus.
They were not a few but may be hundreds since all males under the age of
2 years. The wise men (it is not written they were 3 but only given that
they bought 3 gifts, some Churches think there were 3 and some 12, both
are assumptions) followed the stars and according to Prophesy there were
2 astrological alignments one when Jesus was born and the other on the
25th December when the wise men reached Bethlehem. That is why when the
wise men saw Jesus He was no longer in the stable but in a house and no
longer a just born baby but a grown baby. Keeping this fact into mind
Herod ordered the killing of all males from 2 years and below (the
actual age of Jesus on December was about 4 to 6 months).

It is written we the children of God are born from the loins of Abraham.
This has to do with the spiritual connection between us and Abraham unto
whom the promise of the Seed was given.

I have yet to figure the details of this relationship but there are many
scriptures which show how we are spiritually connected to our
descendants until we enter Heaven. So let us understanding this
connection, make sure that our children and their children are saved and
bought up in the Lord. This will not only affect them but also affect us.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, You are Spirit and You made us too spirit and bought us into this
world in the flesh. When we leave this flesh we too will be our real
selves in the real world which is spirit. This world is temporary but
has purpose and understanding which helps us in our walk to our
salvation. Lord Jesus, we thank You for calling us your brethren and
bringing us under the protection which is on You. Help us realize the
value of being brothers and sisters unto each other. Help us also
realize the world does not end when we die and how we are all connected
to each other in spirit. Help us work today for those who are
spiritually connected unto us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Matthew 22:29-30*
29Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures nor the power of God.
30"For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are like angels of God in heaven.

*Ephesians 2:18-19*
18For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

*Revelation 22:8-9 (also Revelation 19:10)*
8Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these
things.
9Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow
servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the
words of this book. Worship God."

*Luke 18:29-30*
29So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has
left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of
the kingdom of God,
30"who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in
the age to come eternal life."

*1 Peter 3:8-9*
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another;
love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the
contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may
inherit a blessing.

*2 Thessalonians 3:6,13-15*
6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not
according to the tradition which he received from us.
13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
14And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person
and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

*1 Corinthians 5:1-5*
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and
such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles---that a
man has his father's wife!
2And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has
done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already
judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.
4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together,
along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

*Matthew 10-11*
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with
Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had
opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense,
and myrrh.

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Soldiers of Christ*

*1 Peter 3: 15,16* - /But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and
always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for
the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good
conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile
your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed./

A soldier fights and a gangster also fights, one fights for his country
or kingdom and the other for his own selfish purpose or the sake of
terror. One has a uniform and the other does not know what a uniform
means. One works with the whole army as one unit having ultimately one
command head and the other works in small units having their own
leaders, they may corporate with each other temporally but soon or later
fall apart due to selfish reasons. One works for the glory of his
country or kingdom and the other for an individual's glory. A soldier is
trained and made fit and gangsters do not.

In today's message we Christians are compared to soldiers who needs to
be dressed, trained and educated about the purpose he or she is going in
the battle field. The Lord in today's message is telling us the first
step towards being a Christians is to sanctify our hearts. The word
'/sanctify/' means to be used solely for holy purpose. People think by
sprinkling water a thing can be sanctified. Objects in the Bible which
were called holy were symbolic to what they represented. Holy, only
humans can be, not objects. Holiness like righteousness is an on-going
process which being children of God we cannot do without. Like a plant
grows towards the sun which is far, far beyond, yet it still grows
towards it. The holy water we need to be drenched in is in Living Water
which is the knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom of God which
Jesus manifested in flesh.

The second step is towards being a true Christian is to be filled with
knowledge, wisdom and understanding such that we are always ready to
answer everyone (means both growing Christians and unbelievers alike).
That means, we as Christians should be ever thirsty, having a burning
fire inside us for growing in true knowledge and understanding.

This knowledge and understanding being more of the Kingdom of God makes
us meek and fills us with fear of God for as we come to know more of
Him, how magnificent and powerful He is we grow in awe and respect of
Him. A true wise man will always be aware of the little he knows but at
the same time would not act like a fool who does not know anything.

Like a soldier defends his country we are expected to use this knowledge
and understanding for the purpose of defending those who comes against
our faith or our character in Christ.

If we call ourselves protectors of our faith, let us be like soldiers
disciplined and trained, and not like gangsters.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, You hate evil but yet in patience and wisdom You did not finish
Satan in a moment which You could easily have done, but You pursued the
complete and eternal eradication of darkness. You came as man so that
You could use the least of the Kingdom of God to bring down the very
high who went against your light. Lord, condition and prepare us as
true, string soldiers for your Kingdom...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Philippians 2:19-25*
19But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I
also may be encouraged when I know your state.
20For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.
21For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
22But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he
served with me in the gospel.
23Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes
with me.
24But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.
25Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother,
fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who
ministered to my need;

*2 Timothy 2:1-7*
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit
these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
3You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
5And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he
competes according to the rules.
6The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
7Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

----------------------


Faith perfected in works*

*James 2:22 *- *Do you see that faith was working together with his works,
and by works faith was made perfect?*

The salmon fish is partly a fresh water fish and partly ocean fish. It lives
in the ocean but when breeding it swims upstream the river to lay eggs. One
should see the efforts it takes to swim against the water flow to reach its
destination. It sometimes travels 900miles (1,400km) and slowly and slowly
climbs heights of up to even 7,000 feet to lay eggs. In the ocean it is a
sliver blue fish while navigating upstream to lay eggs it even changes it
colour to a darker shade making a complete transformation to its self.

Faith does not mean just believing in something. People mistake belief and
trust to faith. Faith means believing in something that does not change. The
only things in the whole of creation which do not change are God and His
Word. Only God and His Word is Truth, thus faith simply means believing in
the Truth. Believing in anything that is fact cannot be termed as faith for
fact is dependent on situation or environment and can be termed as belief or
trust. Faith is unchangeable or unshakeable.

We need to realize unless the Truth is in us we cannot have faith. It is
also true that till date no man has had the complete knowledge of the Truth,
yet many had and have the knowledge of the Truth. It is only in the end days
that the whole Truth will be known to us and man will stop prophesying.

In the Old Testament, Truth was symbolized by the pomegranate fruit. Each
aril (unit of the pomegranate seed with its fleshy cover) has a unique shape
and going only in its unique place. The whole fruit has sections like how
Truth has different areas of understanding, for us it is body, soul and
spirit. A Truth (aril) cannot be put in any place other than where it
belongs, if put anywhere else it will misaligns all other Truths. Therefore
in every Truth all scriptures need to be fulfilled. As we come to know more
and more Truth(s) and as we put them in its proper place we will know more
of the whole Truth until all Truth(s) are complete.

Understanding comes either from experience or by revelation from God. Works
help us to grow in understanding of the Truth and thus is directly connected
to faith. If we need to grow in faith we need to work for the Kingdom of
God. Therefore working on our own inner selves, working for the people of
God and also for others helps us in our faith walk.

Truth comes from God and we the children of God too come from Him. Like the
salmon fish we too need to seek our source and some may have to go over long
distances and difficult heights for that. But in the process of these works
we all will get transformed completely when the whole Truth comes in us and
our faith become complete.

*[Prayer Starter]*

Lord God, when Adam and Eve disobeyed You they lost the Fruits of Holiness,
Righteousness and Truth, became spiritually corrupt and were no longer
called sons of God. You in your mercy expect man to gain back only one Fruit
so that corrupt man can be made incorrupt through the gifts of the 2 Fruits
paid for by the sacrifice of your Son. Knowing it is just impossible for man
to earn the fruit of Holiness and Righteousness You made available your
Spirit of Truth so that we may know the Truth by the working of your Spirit
in us. Holy Spirit, strengthen us when we put our faith in action in our
work and grow in understanding of the Truth...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

*[Reference Scriptures]*

*Exodus 39:24-26*

24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.

25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the
pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;

26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem
of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

*Luke 13:20-21*

20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?

21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal,
till the whole was leavened.

*1 Corinthians 13:9-12*

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will
be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in
part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

*1 John 3:2*

2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed
what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

*Zechariah 13:2-5*

2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I
will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more
be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to
pass out of the land.

3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his
father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not
live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his
mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed
every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a
rough garment to deceive:

5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me
to keep cattle from my youth.

--
*-*-*

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*Promised before time began*

*Titus 1:1,2* - /Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of
the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which
God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,/

Just some days back I was showing someone the Interlinear Old Testament,
and I was showing the person how each Hebrew word was translated and the
depth of its richness and how we lose when they are made into simple
English statements. Just then in the very first scriptures we were
talking of we hit on something which Paul spoke to Titus in his letter
and our message for today, about the promise of the Light even before
creation.

Time is a factor which is to do with period and measured with either
light or atom vibrations or for us the movements of the sun with the
earth. So we see time is to do with physical creation. Heavenly or
spiritual time is unlike natural time but it too is relative to
something, and that is nature or character. Time can be different for
different beings in Heaven. When we change our hearts we can quicken or
delay things in the spirit world for ourselves.

God is light and He exists from ancient. His plans are good and light
and when His plans were obstructed darkness came into existence. This
darkness existed even before our creation was made and at that time the
English Bibles say '/then God said "Let there be light"; and there was
light/'. The Hebrew word '/there be/' and '/there was/' is verbatim
actually '/let him be/' and '/he was/' respectively. So we see the Light
was promised to us even before man came into existence and time came
into existence and sin came into existence.

People normally have the questions why God did this or that and why not
what they assume to be good. Another very usual question is why God
created so many humans if all are not going to be saved, but only a few
are? I simply say God does all things with purpose and His plans are
always good. Unlike us who live in a time God lives in different time
which is past, present and future at the same time and in Greek it is
termed as a tense 'aorist' and in Hebrew the tense 'imperfect' is used.
What we see is only in the present and what sees is everything at the
same time, the past, the present and the future and that is why He has
already written the Book of Life.

Paul spoke with confidence many a times not because he was confidence
but because he believed in God's Word and since God's Word spoke to him,
he knew it was unchangeable since it came from God, Who sees everything.

Today the very same God is telling you and me if the Word of God
promises us, we need to simply believe it (full stop), because it is
God's Word and He sees everything and knows everything far more and
beyond our time.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord God, You are omnipresent. You not only are everywhere but also You
exist in all time and beyond yet are same. Time is not a factor for You
but came into existence by You. You know all things and gave us your
Word so that we know. Your Word is Light and coming as man You became
the Light manifested in flesh for us. Lord Jesus as your Word dwells in
us and makes us light for others who are in darkness so they too can see
and believe. Separate us Lord from spiritual darkness so that we shine
more and more bright for You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Genesis 1:1-4*
/1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth./
/2The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters./
/3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light./
/4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light
from the darkness./

*Titus 1:1-3*
1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according
to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which
accords with godliness,
2in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time
began,
3but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was
committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

*2 Peter 3:8-9*
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day
is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance.

--
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*The Gospel that saves us*

*2 Timothy 1:10* - But is now made manifest by the appearing of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel:

We learned some days back in Hebrew the word translated as flesh also
means the understanding or message and in Greek the word also means
nature. Before Jesus came as man although the Word was given unto man,
man had no understanding of the Word. So when Jesus came He not only
completed the Word but also made it possible to man to understand the
Word and that is why His introduction in John talks of Jesus being the
Word of God.

Without the Word it is impossible for man to be saved. So when Jesus
became the Word manifested in the flesh He bought hope for the salvation
of man so that anyone who believes in Him (in the Word) will be saved.

Jesus said unless we eat of His flesh we will not have life, eating of
His flesh means accepting His message and becoming one in His nature.
Thus to know Jesus we need to know the Word. People are deceived that we
need not go deep into studying and understanding the Word, it is like
saying we do not need to really understand and know Jesus. Unless we do
not know Him, we do not know His Name (nature) and therefore will not
have authority in His Name.

Other than completing the Word and becoming the Word manifested in the
flesh He also became the sacrifice for our sins. By His dead (dying and
going to Hell) and resurrection (coming back from Hell) He broke the
curse of spiritual death (our spirits becoming dust) which God had put
on the generations of Adam and Eve, so that whoever believes in Him does
not go to Hell. His resurrection was a confirmation of the curse been
broken.

The word blood in Greek also means sacrifice so drinking of His blood
means accept His sacrifice into our lives. That is the reason unleavened
bread and wine (unfermented grape juice) is used as His flesh and blood
for what we need to have is the understanding of what they represent.
The Jews could not digest when Jesus spoke of eating His flesh and
drinking His blood. They thought the real thing and did not know the
actual meaning of what Jesus meant. Even though we eat mere unleavened
bread and drink wine in real life, we spiritually need to accept the
Word and accept the sacrifice of Jesus as our own.

With these factors we now have a living Good News (Gospel) which enables
us to have eternal life by returning to our real home in Heaven with God.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, we thank You for becoming the Word manifested in the flesh.
Without You it would have been impossible for man to be saved. When
there was darkness even before this creation God saw You as the light
which overcame darkness and through You we too have become the children
of light. Lord, help us to realize the real value of having You and
knowing You. Build a thirst in us to know your Word by the help of your
Spirit...

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*John 1:1*
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
**
*John 1:11-14*
11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
**
*John 6:51-54*
51"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My
flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
52The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this
Man give us His flesh to eat?"
53Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat
the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I
will raise him up at the last day.

*Daniel 12:8-9*
8And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall
be the end of these things?
9And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed
till the time of the end.

*Genesis 3:17-19*
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of
thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,
Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt
eat the herb of the field;
19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto
the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return.

--

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*Preparing ourselves as virgins for our one Husband*

*2 Corinthians 11:2* - /For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy.
For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ./

The word jealous used by Paul is also translated as zealous and its
source in Hebrew describes it as a mother's possessiveness over her
children.

Paul has such an extreme emotion over his congregation on just one
matter and that matter is to prepare them as a chaste virgin to Christ.
When he used the term virgin it does not refer to the sexual status of a
person not been sexually active with another person.

Initially when I started reading the Bible and read scriptures which
seem to show God's preference to people who did have any sexual
relationship, I was quiet depressed. I thought had I known this long
before I may have made that sacrifice for the Lord but I was wrong in
that understanding. It was when the Lord blessed me with the wisdom to
understand scriptures then I realized the virgin matter did not have
anything to do with sexual status nor with being an unbeliever before.

Married or not married we can still be virgins for Christ. Those who are
not married have a plus of being totally dedicated to Christ but if they
have problem with overcoming their sexual desires then it is worst for
them.

The Greek word '*parthenos* ' translated as virgin is used for a person
sexually inactive and also for a person eligible for marriage.

The term Paul used here and most scriptures talk of is the spiritual
readiness which we need to be in before the coming of Christ. Like a
bride gets dressed with fine clothes and decorates herself with fine
jewellery before meeting her bridegroom we too need to do the same with
spiritually. Spiritual beauty includes things like Fruits of the Holy
Spirit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit used for the glory of God.

Jesus Christ is the first of Zion and only man who remained Son of God
even unto death, not getting defiled in any way. Without going into
details of Heavenly factors He also is the only perfect Son in Heaven
among all the Angels who are also called Sons of God. Even though He
humbled Himself He still remained perfect and His victory has made way
for us along with the Angels to become one in Him and to also become
Sons in perfection.

This preparation is also not simple as just believing in Jesus Christ,
or being good, or doing work for God even like bring thousands and
millions to believe in Jesus Christ. It is a great challenge which is
more internal then to do with outward or with others; it requires us to
overcome our flesh and to grow the various Fruits of the Holy Spirit in
us. The Bible records as only a limited number of us in the whole of
creations who succeed in becoming spiritual virgins and they have a very
special place in Heaven and they also are those who have authority in
Christ and among the first to resurrect in Christ.

We need to ask ourselves if we aim to become one among them and the
great secret I like to share with you, which even Paul did not share
openly but we can see in his life, is by trying to make others one among
them we land better changes of becoming one. Because by trying to get
others to build the Fruits of the Holy Spirit we land up growing in them.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, we thank You for showing us in yourself how by becoming a servant
You become everlasting King. Help us to become Israel (Princes of God)
forever by first becoming servants unto your Kingdom. Help us to become
spiritual virgins, standing pure in spirit not defiled by evil and
weakness of the flesh. Help us to overcome and be among those who are
among the first to resurrect in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
Read *Psalms 45* (it is totally symbolic like Songs of Solomon / Songs
of Songs)

*Amos 8:11-14*
11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a
famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But
of hearing the words of the LORD.
12They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall
run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.
13"In that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from
thirst.
14Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, Who say, 'As your god lives, O
Dan!' And, 'As the way of Beersheba lives!' They shall fall and never
rise again."

*Matthew 24:21-24*
21"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since
the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but
for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!'
do not believe it.
24"For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

*Revelation 14:1-5*
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him
one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on
their foreheads.
2And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and
like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists
playing their harps.
3They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four
living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song
except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the
earth.
4These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are
virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These
were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault
before the throne of God.

*Revelation 20:4-6*
4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to
them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the
beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or
on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years.
5But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over
such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and
of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

*1 Corinthians 9:24-27*
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one
receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
25And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.
Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable
crown.
26Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one
who beats the air.
27But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I
have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

--
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*Sitting with the enemy*

*Luke 14:1 *- /And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of
the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched
him./

The word Sabbath if translated in its true sense in English would simply
mean holiday. It was a day of rest like we do on a holiday. According to
Jewish practise the seventh day of the week which was a Saturday was
celebrated as a Sabbath. They also called the days of festivals as a
Sabbath and at some places termed it also as high day or high Sabbath.

In today's message Jesus went to the house of one of the chief
Pharisees. The term Pharisees was originally used to those
revolutionaries who revolted during Israel's exile. They were like
heroes and John son of Simeon in Apocrypha book of Maccabees was their
leader. Latter this group took the role of becoming religious policemen.

The Last Supper which Jesus celebrated with His disciples was the Feast
of the Unleavened Bread which was a few days before the real Passover,
and was also a Sabbath (holiday). It was exactly a year before the Last
Supper that Jesus celebrated this same day with the very people who
would be the main people behind His death on the crucifix. It is written
they watched Him closely, but let us ask ourselves what was going in
Jesus' mind? Did not Jesus know that these very people would next year
be the people behind His death?

Jesus knew in great details about His death on the crucifix and it is
written in the books of the Prophets as to who would be the people to
put Him to death. Yet we see Jesus sat with these very enemies of His to
celebrate the feast.

At the enemies camp Jesus did not just lay back and smile. His behaviour
was congenial with them but yet He became a stumbling block for them.
Jesus could have chosen to just sit and talk with them and be in good
books with them but then we see on seeing a man suffering of dropsy
Jesus questioned their understanding. He not only questioned them but by
healed the man on the Sabbath which according to them was breaking the
Jewish law. He openly confronted these religious policemen and the
religious intellectuals who were along with them.

In yesterday's message the Lord instructed us about our attitude towards
the false and in today's message gives us an example in Himself as how
He did it. We Christians calling ourselves peaceful people land up doing
the opposite to what Jesus taught us. If a Christian does not have anger
inside them he or she is not a Christian. This anger is not against the
person but against the understanding of the person.

Towards the person we are to be merciful and gentle but against the
belief of the person we have to be firm and confronting. Our war is
spiritual and not in the flesh.

Jesus gives us a beautiful example in today's message and let us all
learn from His example. Let us not be quiet Christians but be Christians
who bring down the strong holds of the enemy. Let the enemy worry every
time a Christian approaches or even passes by.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, You became our corner stone. In You we see the perfect
example of being man according to the heart of God. Satan and his army
feared You but yet You did not go after them but focused on your
mission. You came to save and set free those who chose to believe in the
Truth. You are Truth and it is by You that man has come to know God's
Word and understand the Truth. Lord, give us the wisdom, courage and
gentleness in heart to be like Jesus...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Luke 14:1-6, 12-14*
1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief
Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
2And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
3And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it
lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
4And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him
go;
5And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox
fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath
day?
6And they could not answer him again to these things.
12Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a
supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich
neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
13"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind.
14"And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall
be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Our attitude towards false*

*Paul's letter to the Romans*

Today the Lord wants us to learn from Paul's letter to the Romans about
how our attitude towards false should be.

In the letter Paul is very firm in his words and distinguishes the Truth
from the false. When it comes to belief in the occult or untrue Paul
does not take a relaxed attitude or minces words, and we see the same
attitude was with Jesus when He was flesh among us.

Both were very graceful and loving towards people but when it came to
exposing the false they did not hold back is using firm words. They did
not abuse or say nasty things, nor did they use soft words, they said it
as it is without fear.

Being kind, gentle and loving to people does not mean we need to accept
or certify the false belief of other people. It also does not call us to
have an aggressive attitude or confronting behaviour. We should be clear
to show firstly that we do not accept their understandings and we should
also have answers as to defend our own faith.

We need to understand when someone tells us that there are other gods or
there are other ways to God other than Jesus Christ, then it is an
attack on the Truth and we should be ready to defend it; this need to be
done with gentle and humble heart, yet firmly.

A Christian may live peacefully among the gentile and pagan of the world
but his or her presence should cause unrest in the minds of the others
when it comes to their gods or their belief.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, we pray that You make us bold and the only fear that should be in
our hearts should be the fear of You. Give us knowledge and wisdom that
we may be able to answer the worldly system and defend the Truth and the
hope within us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Romans 1:18-25*
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God
hath shewed it unto them.
20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor
were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
22Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man---and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their
hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served
the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

*Romans 3:7-9*
7For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why
am I also still judged as a sinner?
8And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"? ---as we are
slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation
is just.
9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously
charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

*Romans 16:17-18*
17Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and
offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own
belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple.

*1 Peter 3:15-16*
15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give
a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,
with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers,
those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

*2 Timothy 2:24-26*
24And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able
to teach, patient,
25in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps
will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
26and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the
devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

--
*-*

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*Being rich*

*1 Corinthians 1:7* - /so that you come short in no gift, eagerly
waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,/

Corinth was a principal city of Greece and due to its strategic location
its 2 ports were preferred for trade. Its ports were also situated at
convenient positions; one did all the trade to Italy and to the west and
the other to Asia. So we see this city was a commercial capital and thus
all the people were well to do. Along with riches came various vices
into the lives of the people of Corinth.

Paul landed in this place due to his trade connections and then started
witnessing Jesus Christ to the people there. He initially started with
the Jews in the synagogue, who in the start rejected him but then some
did turn to the Lord and were baptized. Paul built a large Church
(congregation) but the people mostly struggled in their spiritual life.

In today's message Paul was telling these rich believers about not
lacking. Surely Paul was not referring to the material aspect but to the
spiritual aspect. Paul also specifies the areas in which they would be
richly blessed and they were in all utterance and knowledge.

People have the wrong idea about Christianity and prosperity.
Christianity does assure us abundance but this abundance is not in
material or worldly riches but in spiritual richness. Christianity does
not say we will be beggars but assures God will provide us our needs and
little extra to bless others.

Jesus Christ became poor by humbling Himself in the Spirit world from
God He became mere man less than even the Angels. Jesus was never in
need of money for the group had sufficient money for them always in
their money bag and Jesus wore not rags but a robe which was considered
valuable during His time. He did this not because He liked to dress well
but to fulfil scriptures.

In the Bible no Man of God was richie rich other than Solomon and we
know how Solomon fell indirectly due to his lavish life. Even Abraham
who was blessed was found historically to be a middle class citizen by
his assets compared to others during his time (he had an army of 800
while the richest person had an army of 5000 and these were all private
armies, not the king's army).

In today's message the spiritual gifts and spiritual understanding which
we will be provided, will be with only one purpose and that is to edify
the people of God and to make His bride blameless when He comes. The
spiritual gifts have one purpose and that is to know the Truth and
spread the Truth to the people of God and therefore is mostly speech and
knowledge. All gifts like healing, prophesy, tongues, wisdom etc. are
connected with either knowing the Truth, or delivering the Truth, or
building the environment for people to receive the Truth.

We hold the most powerful weapon in all creation and that is our mouths.
It becomes powerful only when we are filled with the knowledge of the
Kingdom of God and when we speak His Message unto others.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord God, your Word is like a flaming sword which no being in all
creation can come against. It is your sword which keeps the fallen
spirits from entering Heaven. You have blessed us with the ability to
hold this mighty weapon, which is the only weapon that works against
Satan and his army. Lord Jesus Christ, your coming in the flesh made way
for man to know the Truth and You will come again when man has the whole
Truth in them and has the Heavenly sword with them. You with your Angels
will use this sword against Satan and his army in the end days and
eradicate darkness. Lord, help us realize the importance of your
spiritual knowledge and the power of the tongue...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*1 Corinthians 1:4-8*
4I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was
given to you by Christ Jesus,
5that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all
knowledge,
6even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the
day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Romans 13:4-5*
4For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be
afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's
minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
5Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for
conscience' sake.

*Revelation 1:10-16*
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud
voice, as of a trumpet,
11saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and,
"What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which
are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis,
to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
12Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I
saw seven golden lampstands,
13and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man,
clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with
a golden band.
14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes
like a flame of fire;
15His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His
voice as the sound of many waters;
16He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its
strength.

*1 Thessalonians 4:16*
16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first.

*2 Thessalonians 1:6-10*
6since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those
who trouble you,
7and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
8in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on
those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
10when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be
admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was
believed.


SavedbyFaith. info - Daily Mail

*Having favor even with our enemies*

*Acts 27:43,44* - /But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them
from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump
overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some
on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land./

We know when we walk in the ways of the Lord the world starts to hate
us. People close to us suddenly are very far from us. We are side-lined
from social networks for we do not do things which people of the world
do. The worst reactions come from the religious people and people who
are protectors of the worldly system. These people not only dislike us
but become our haters, for they consider us their enemies. The Lord is
telling us when His grace is upon us and when we stand in His Word even
these people would not be able to harm us, more than what the Lord
allows them. When times get bad from among them will unexpectedly stand
someone who would have favour on us and may even land up being our
protectors.

Those who are in the front of the spiritual battle zone would have
numerous testimonies on this, like Paul. Even when everyone else from
the Roman army had decided to kill the prisoners, all of a sudden the
Centurion has favour on Paul and thus not only Paul but all others with
him also as saved. The Romans take the risk to allow those who would
swim to freely jump off the sinking ship and swim to land and the others
who could not were given means to float on and go to land.

The Bible talks of us facing persecution as Christians, but even then we
would not be crushed and would come out of them stronger when we stand
in the Name of the Lord, in His Word.

So be encouraged if you are in such situations now, where all people
around you are not with you, mainly because you witness Christ.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Heavenly Father, You are God and You alone are divine and eternal. You
are our creator and You alone know the beginning and the end. Everything
is by You and through You and nothing has power against You. It is by
the sacrifice of your Son and our testimony in Him that sets us free
from this corrupted worldly flesh. Lord, we thank You for the grace we
receive by faith in Jesus Christ. We know even in the worst of
situations our enemy would not be able to crush us for You are with us.
We pray for others who are now in thus situation that they continue to
keep their trust in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Acts 27:41-44*
41But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground;
and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being
broken up by the violence of the waves.
42And the soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them
should swim away and escape.
43But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose,
and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and
get to land,
44and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it
was that they all escaped safely to land.

*Genesis 39:1-5*
1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of
Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the
Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
2The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in
the house of his master the Egyptian.
3And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made
all he did to prosper in his hand.
4So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him
overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
5So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and
all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's
sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house
and in the field.

*1 Samuel 14:44-45*
44And Saul answered, "God do so and more also; for you shall surely die,
Jonathan."
45But the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished
this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the LORD lives, not
one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with
God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

*Luke 21:16-18*
16"You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and
friends; and they will put some of you to death.
17"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.
18"But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
-*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*End of our journey*

*Paul’s journey*

Yesterday as I sat to write the Lord had led me to the end of Paul’s second
letter to Timothy and since I did not receiving any scripture I assumed
yesterday was my day of rest so I did not send any message. But today again
the Lord took me to the same location so I asked the Lord what He was trying
to convey to us and then I realized at the Lord was pointing to the end of
the journey of Paul for the second letter of Paul is the last letter of Paul
recorded in the Bible.

In a nut shell if we look at the life of Saul who became Paul, he being a
(half) Jew and very learned in scriptures (Law of Moses), was yet void of
the knowledge of God and became a self-righteous man. Thinking the
Christians were blaspheming the holy things of God he became a religious
police man and started persecuting the Christians. He was indirectly
involved in the murder of Stephen. It was after that the Lord appeared to
him and that became a turning point of his life. The Lord put him on a
special mission to reach out to the gentiles, the rulers and the spiritual
growing up in the Lord which he did very successfully.

But on his personal front Paul struggled spiritually with one area in his
life and that area became the thorn to him. The grace of God was abundant on
him and the Lord helped him is all areas of his life amazingly but yet the
area which was a thorn to Paul, God wanted him to overcome and backed him
with only His grace.

The thorn of Paul was his pride. He calmed to never have it yet it was very
visible and this fight nearly took him to his death for he became physically
very sick at his spiritual weakest moment. The battle was at its peak in his
letters to Corinthians and the first letter exposes the low of Paul and
shows him getting angry and envious even on his own spiritual son Timothy.
Paul being an Apostle was trying to compare his power to preaching to the
masses with Timothy who was an evangelist. Paul did a great job in building
the foundations of faith of the Church of Corinthians and his letters and
his personal one to one counseling to the people of Corinthians did help in
that area. But his physical preaching was no match to Timothy the evangelist
and this open comparison by the people got Paul angry even though a person
fell from a height and died during one of Paul’s long boring preaching.

Latter in the second latter Paul is shown overcoming his thorn and the proof
of it is in his last letter to Timothy where he acknowledges Timothy as a
spiritually grown Evangelist, giving him directions of how to go about with
his calling and from being his spiritual son started refers to him as an
associate.

So we see Paul had 2 journeys in his life one his calling as an Apostle and
second his personal spiritual walk in the Lord. In his calling Paul was on
total fire and did not face any problems but in his spiritual walk he
struggled in the start and was not even confident of entering Heaven even
though he was instrument in bringing many to the Lord, but at the end when
he overcame the area which the Lord wanted him to overcome he was totally
confident to be in Heaven when Jesus Christ comes again to receive us. Not
only confident of entering Heaven, Paul also had an idea of what was going
to be his reward in Heaven.

We too are one day doing to come to an end of our journey on earth; we may
not have the time like Paul had in jail to reflect on his walk with the
Lord. We may have done great work in the Lord, witnessing Him, bringing His
Word unto His people, healing people, performing great miracles etc. Yet
unless we have not overcome our flesh with the teachings of Jesus Christ Who
is a living Word then our entering Heaven is not assured.

The Lord desires today we take the time to reflect on these urgent matters
for some brethrens among us may not have the gift of time for long to do it
again, for we never know when the breathe of life can leave us any time.

*[Prayer Starter]*

Lord, You made us in this flesh to overcome it and by the light of the Truth
to let darkness be removed forever. Even when the world was not in forma
and darkness covered the lower heavens You saw light. You planned this light
to work in man and made him to be part of your glory. Lord, your wisdom is
beyond any human understanding yet You make way simple for those who trust
in You. Lord, help us be your vessels for your glorious plan and to be
forever with You in your glory...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

*[Reference Scriptures]*

*Acts 7:57-59*

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran
upon him with one accord,

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid
down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.

*Acts 8:1-3*

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were
all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except
the apostles.

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation
over him.

3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and
haling men and women committed them to prison.

*Acts 9:1-18*

1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he
found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them
bound unto Jerusalem.

3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined
round about him a light from heaven:

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be
told thee what thou must do.

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice,
but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no
man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him
said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is
called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of
Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his
hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much
evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call
on thy name.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto
me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of
Israel:

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his
hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy
sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he
received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

*Acts 13:7-12*

7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man
called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them,
seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked
intently at him

10 and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you
enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways
of the Lord?

11 "And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be
blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on
him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being
astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

*Acts 20:9-12*

9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being
fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with
sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not
yourselves; for his life is in him.

11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten,
and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

*2 Corinthians 10:8-11*

8 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord
hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be
ashamed:

9 That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.

10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily
presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when
we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

*2 Corinthians 12:4-10*

4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities.

6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say
the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that
which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then
am I strong.

*2 Timothy 4:5-8*

5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only,
but unto all them also that love his appearing.

---*-*-*-*- *-*-*

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*Being a proud bondservant of God*
*Titus 1:1* - /Paul, a servant (bondservant) of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the
acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,/
I am in IT Industry and one of our businesses is IT services, wherein we
handle the IT of other organisations which outsource it to us. We
dedicate technical resources at the clients place. We have locations
where the operations are very critical and customer works 24x7, 365days
a year, so also do our resources.
At one of our customer sites we have a very high security requirement
and our staffs are cleared by the government police agencies before they
are dedicated there. The site being very big and operations complicated,
it takes at times even 2 to 3 months before an engineer gets familiar to
the physical site and customer operations, and really starts getting
into the system. The induction being long and tedious we take serious
steps to avoid retention rate.
The candidate goes through 2 to 3 interviews and background checks other
than technical clearance before they are selected. Another retention
policy we have in place is we ask the candidate to give a written
commitment of working for at least 1 year. In technical terms it is
called a bond and employees in whom the company invests in way of
training or any other way, the company can make such an agreement with
the employee.
We have seen people who are not really interested in long term
commitment very hesitant to sign such a document and this becomes a good
deterrent for them. But most people who really need the job and
committed to their job actually look at it also as a commitment from the
company of keeping them.
The Greek word '*doulos*' meaning servant or bondservant is used in John
8 by Jesus as a slave servant but in today's message Paul uses it very
proudly to describe himself. The Bible says we were slaves to sin and we
are set free by the price Jesus paid. We were not only set free but also
made sons and heir and no longer are slaves or servants.
In today's message Paul is very proud to call himself a servant or
bondservant of God because he willingly committed himself to an
agreement with God to work for God's purpose and God in His part will
make sure He succeeds and gains a great reward doing the job.
Throughout scriptures where ever God and man made a covenant God has
always been the honest keeper of the covenant. Many a times even when
man violated the covenant God did not scrap the covenant but yet
tolerated man and honoured His part of the covenant.
The task assigned to the workers of the Vineyard of the Kingdom of God
is a very critical job and not anyone or everyone gets this job. Many
apply and go through the internship but majority fail at the tests of
being qualified to the job.
Believing and loving Jesus with all our hearts and wanting to do God's
work is like filling the job application. It is when we start doing our
walk with the Holy Spirit that our interview test and selection happens.
Any and everybody can apply for the job but it is only those who have
the Fruits of the Holy Spirit really get the job. And once we make that
bond with God then we can be sure God will never fail to make us a
success. He will provide everything we require for the job, He build us
in every way and take us through every situation that comes and never
forsake us even during those many occasions when we fail to keep our
commitments of the bond.
So being in such a bond with God is a great honour and asset which Paul
was proud of.
The Lord is asking us, would we not like to also be in such a bond with
Him and be called His servants?
*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, we were slaves unto sin and under the yoke of Satan. You paid the
price to free us from sin and gave us authority to overcome Satan. You
not only set us free but also gave us the ability to be your mature Sons
from being your little children. Lord, You also gave us to choice to be
part of your business in the process of becoming Sons. Even though being
your own You still make a bond to show your commitment and You have
shown over the years You have not failed on your part and have tolerated
the worst of our failures to keep our part. Lord, we thank You for
making this bind available for us and we pray may of your children
commit to the bond to become mature Sons soon and that your Kingdom come
in glory quickly...
This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.
*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*John 8:34,35*
34Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth
ever.
*1 Corinthians 9:24-27*
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one
receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
25And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.
Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable
crown.
26Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one
who beats the air.
27But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I
have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
*2 Timothy 4:7-8*
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith.
8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me
only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
*James 1:12*
12Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been
approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised
to those who love Him.
*1 Peter 5:2-4*
2Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not
by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to
the flock;
4and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that does not fade away.
*John 17:12*
12While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given
me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of
perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
*John 18:8-9*
8Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek
Me, let these go their way,"
9that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You
gave Me I have lost none."
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*Anointing with oil*
*James 5:14* - /Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of
the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord:/
This scripture has caused many to take oil and apply on the fore head of
people and pray for them when they are sick.
In today's message the Lord wants us to understand what it means and it
with truth and understanding.
At the Last Supper Jesus washed the feet of His disciples when He came
to Simon Peter, Simon Peter initially resisted Jesus' washing His feet
but when Jesus said if any person's feet were not washed by Him then
that person would have nothing to do with Him. At this Simon Peter
requested Jesus to wash even his hands and his head. Jesus told him any
person who had bath did not need washing so why was Jesus washing only
their feet?
Jesus' washing the feet of His disciples was symbolic to what He was to
do. Feet symbolically represent way of life and washing the dirt of the
feet symbolizes forgiving the sins of a person. That is reason after
washing the feet of His disciples Jesus ordered them to wash each
other's feet too.
If we look at the incident of the Lord appearing to Moses the first time
in a burning bush, it was on a mountain and when Moses approached the
burning bush the Lord told him to remove his footwear for it was holy
ground. It was not that the place around the bush had some special
finishing; it was as any other part of the mountain on which Moses
stood, yet the Lord instructed Moses to remove his footwear when
approaching Him. This symbolized man should approach God in honesty as
he is, as God has made him and not to put on the worldly makeover when
coming before Him.
People come to God to worship, they may even remove their footwear at
worship but do not do the real instruction or meaning of it. They still
carry their worldly burden and worldly life and come with full of sins
and therefore do not really feel the presence of God's glory.
In today's message James does not speak of normal oil but the Greek word
'*elaion*' clearly specifies anointing with olive oil (Greek '*elaia*'
means olive). It is not that we need to stop using coconut oil or any
other oil and start using olive oil from tomorrow.
Without going much into technical details an olive tree symbolizes
Israel the man having authority and power with God. This tree is the
first tree named in the Bible and mentioned when the dove sent by Noah
returns from the flood with an olive leaf symbolizing the hope of Israel.
This tree has the property of being disease and fire resistant. There
are incidents recorded in history where trees almost totally burned have
sprouted in a few days. Normal olive trees live for about 100 to
200years but there is a record of an olive tree surviving 2400years.
The two outputs of this tree which it is known for, is its oil and its
fruit. Oil symbolizes testimony and fruit man's spiritual productivity
which is measured in relations to the growth of the Fruits of the Holy
Spirit.
David in Psalms having knowledge of the symbolization refers to himself
as a young olive tree. In Romans, Paul uses the olive tree to represent
the redeem man (mankind) with Jesus being root of the tree. Jesus is the
corner stone of redeemed Israel.
The Greek word to anoint means to grease. So in reality anointing the
sick with olive oil means to share the testimony of those blessed in the
Lord, so as to encourage the sick and build hope in the Lord.
So let us not just do meaningless traditions but with understanding let
us do what the Lord instructed us so that we receive all that the Lord
promised.
*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord, You said in your Word the days will come when your people will
worship You in Spirit and Truth. Lord, we thank You for opening our
minds to the understanding of your instructions and revealing which was
hidden for even the most wise of this world. Help us encourage the sick
with the mighty testimonies You have blessed your people with to let
them know that You are God of wonders and You do not disappoint those
who keep hope in You...
This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.
*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*Genesis 8:10-11*
10And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out
from the ark.
11Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly
plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had
receded from the earth.
*Psalms 52:8*But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I
trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
*Romans 11:16-21*
16For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root
is holy, so are the branches.
17And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild
olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker
of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that
you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
20Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by
faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you
either.
*Acts 7:30-33*
30 "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
31"When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to
observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
32"saying, 'I am the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and dared not look.
33'Then the LORD said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the
place where you stand is holy ground.
*John 13:3-15*
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and
that He had come from God and was going to God,
4rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded
Himself.
5After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
6Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You
washing my feet?"
7Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand
now, but you will know after this."
8Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him,
"If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
9Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and
my head!"
10Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but
is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
11For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all
clean."
12So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down
again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
13"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
14"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another's feet.
15"For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to
you.
--
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Your own will be against you*

*Acts 22:30* - *The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he
was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the
chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set
him before them.*

In today’s message we read Paul who was born of a Jewish Pharisee and a
Roman parents was stuck between both Pharisees and Romans, and both had a
hate and love relationship with him.

The Romans did not like him for he became a problem for law and order in
Jerusalem and the Pharisees hated him for he preached the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and caused problems for their traditions and beliefs.

The Roman commander tried s best to save Paul when he came to know he was a
Roman and see if he could bail Paul out by getting the Pharisees and
Sadducees to reconcile with Paul, but in the bargain landed up with a bigger
problem on hand. To persecute another Roman needed the Commander to follow a
protocol which would cause great inconvenience for him and he tried to find
an escape from it. If Paul wanted he could have easily submitted to the
Pharisees and the Sadducees but chose to testify Jesus Christ amongst them.

The Pharisees on the other hand, even though hated Paul supported him when
Paul smartly put them in confrontation mode with the Sadducees on the topic
of afterlife. But later they realized that they were taken for fools by Paul
they became very angry and plotted to kill him and not to eat until they did
the job.

The Sadducees also were Jews and they too did not like Paul but yet did not
hate him as much as the Pharisees did.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace yet He said He did not come to bring
peace but unrest and division in a family wherein the father would be
against the son and mother against the daughter. Did Jesus contradict when
He made that statement? It is only when we understand this will we be more a
Christian. Many give up following Christ and become name sake Christians due
to not understanding this.

We see in Jesus’ life as man, He never had problems with the regular Jews;
His problems were only with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees
(which included the Jewish priest) and the Sadducees were protectors and
professors of their faith and which was contrary to what Jesus Christ stood
for. These people had another understanding of the very scriptures which
Jesus referred too and this disagreement had cause them to hate Jesus. No
doubt there were very, very few among them who gave ear to what Jesus spoke
the others had shut their eyes and ears to Jesus. This hardening of heart
had caused them to hate Jesus.

The Lord is telling us when we have Christ in us, our priorities and way of
life will change and this change will cause a change in the family we live
in. If the family members are not protectors or professors of any other
belief, faith or worldly system then things may be easy for us but when they
are, then there will be turmoil of love and hate relationship. They may love
us but our belief will ignite a hatred which will blind their eyes and
deafen their ears. Some may go to the extent of making us a greater enemy
then their worst enemy.

In these situations we should not fear, for God would take care of us and
nothing that is against His will can happen to us. Even if we may face some
persecution these would be to build our testimony to bring many more to the
Lord. So in either ways if all turns out easy or if we face problems, we
need to rejoice for both will glorify God.

*[Prayer Starter]*

Father God, You alone are the King of Peace and true peace abides only in
You. Jesus became your message of peace and those who believe in Him and
live the message of Jesus Christ will have peace in You. The world hates You
and the peace of this world is like sweet poison which causes death. Lord,
strengthen us are we become a living witness for You and as we face the
people of this world especially those who live in our family. We pray they
do not harden their hearts and become protectors and professors of another
faith like the Pharisees and Sadducees or protectors of the worldly system
like the Romans...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

*[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 22:24-30; 23:1-12*

24 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade
that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they
cried so against him.

25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that
stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and
uncondemned?

26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain,
saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.

27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a
Roman? He said, Yea.

28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him:
and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman,
and because he had bound him.

30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he
was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the
chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and
set him before them.

1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have
lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him
on the mouth.

3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for
sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten
contrary to the law?

4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?

5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it
is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other
Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee,
the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called
in question.

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees
and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor
spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’
part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit
or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest
Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go
down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the
castle.

11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good
cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou
bear witness also at Rome.

12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound
themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till
they had killed Paul.

*Isaiah 9:6* For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the
government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

*Luke 12:51-53*

51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at
all, but rather division.

52 "For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two,
and two against three.

53 "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother
against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her
daughter-in- law and daughter-in- law against her mother-in-law. "

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Faith came with Jesus Christ!*

*Galatians 4:22-23 *- /But the scripture hath concluded all under sin,
that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto
the faith which should afterwards be revealed./

Today I will share with you one of the greatest revelations I received
from the Lord of late which renewed my understanding of the whole Bible
and which Paul talks about in the message we received from the Lord today.

Paul talks about 'when faith came'. How can faith come when Abraham was
called the father of faith by Paul himself?

First we need to understand we are saved from sin by grace and grace
came through Jesus Christ. Grace is nothing but mercy but even though
mercy existed since God, grace came only when Jesus Christ came as man
and became our sacrifice. Grace by definition is the needed amount of
mercy to get the job done. Before Jesus came as man mercy was very
difficult to earn or receive and it was up to God to shower as much
mercy He desired. But since faith and mercy (grace) are like Siamese
twins by faith we receive grace and are saved. That is the reason it is
only after Jesus came as man people started getting healed by faith.

Now we need to understand how faith came through Jesus Christ even
though more than 90percent of the Word (Prophetic Word) was already
given before Jesus Christ came as man?

Faith means believing in the Truth which does not change and which we
know is the Word of God. Even though the Word was given no man knew the
Truth for the Truth was still with God and no man had the understanding
of the Truth. It was when Jesus Christ came as man the Word was broken
down to the level which man could understand and therefore in John it is
written the Word which was with God came down and became flesh.

In Hebrew the word flesh comes from the root word which means
understanding or message. This is the reason Jesus said unless we eat of
His flesh we will not have life. When He said flesh He meant His message
for His message is the Bread of Life.

Man (Adam's) flesh was made from earth (water was needed to bind the
earth/dust together to make the model of man into which God breathed
life) but Jesus was made of Heavenly flesh which is Spirit. That is the
reason being born again requires us to put on a new flesh and reject our
own flesh. We need to reject our understanding, our knowledge, our way
of life and put on the understanding which came through Jesus Christ,
the knowledge of the Kingdom of God and live the life according to His
Kingdom. Unless we do not spiritually cut off from the earth and be born
again in Spirit we are not people who have the message of Jesus Christ
in us.

The first Church was born when God told Abraham to cut the foreskin of
his people by circumcision. They did it without understanding back then,
but in Jesus Christ we know that we need to cut our worldly flesh
(understanding) and when we are circumcised in our hearts and receive
Jesus Christ then only we become Christians.

Let us thank God for the life giving flesh of Jesus Christ which enabled
us to have faith and be saved by grace.

*[/Prayer Starter/]*
Lord Jesus, we thank You for coming down to man and being the true Manna
for the Salvation of man. You became flesh which gives life. Lord, may
we understand the importance of receiving your message of life and eat
of it so that it becomes our flesh and we become one. Your Church, your
bridge needs to become one flesh with You so that the Heavenly marriage
takes place like earthly marriage takes place when man and woman became
one in flesh. Open the minds and hearts of your people to understand Who
You are and may your purpose be our purpose, may You be part of us and
we be part of You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

*[/Reference Scriptures/] *
*John 1:1-4*
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that
was made.
4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

*John 6:48-58*
48"I am the bread of life.
49"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50"This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of
it and not die.
51"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My
flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
52The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this
Man give us His flesh to eat?"
53Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat
the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54"Whoever eats My flesh [message] and drinks My blood [sacrifice] has
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55"For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he
who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
58"This is the bread which came down from heaven---not as your fathers
ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

*John 3:3-6*
3Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
5Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6"That which is born of the flesh [earthly flesh] is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

*Ephesians 2:11-16*
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh---who are
called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the
flesh by hands---
12that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken
down the middle wall of separation,
15having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new
man from the two, thus making peace,
16and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the
cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

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