R.D SOUZA Saved by faith

Faith does not come easy

Hebrew 11:1-2  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Abraham is called the father of faith and looked up to as an example for strong faith mainly because of the incident of him being ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, knowing God would make a way to still bless him with a son as per the promise. This faith did not come easy but took more than 25years to build, that too with moments in between where he and his wife disbelieved and even laughed at God. But then there were people like the Roman Centurion who met Jesus at Capernaum whose faith was so strong it caused Jesus to make a statement as ‘I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel’, that too the verb ‘found’ including those of the past.

When we study faith in the Greek text we find 5 words relate to the various stages of faith, it starts with hope and is perfected in authority.

Elpis - hope
Peitho - trust
Oligopistos - little faith
Pistis - faith
Exousia - authority

Today’s scripture is usually used to define faith but if faith is understood it talks of a stage of faith ‘Pistis’. Jesus as man is the only one who is not called a man of ‘Strong Faith’ but called man of ‘Authority’. The Centurion did demonstrate that level for a moment.

Faith is related to truth since it all about believing the truth (Word of God is truth). So faith can be built by experience like those from OT did or by knowing the truth (NT). We are the privileged lot because through Jesus we receive truth and grace. The Spirit of Truth we receive through our baptism in Jesus Christ helps us grow in knowing the truth and thus also helps us build our faith the easy way.

The reason many are weak in faith is because they do not concentrate on building themselves in the truth instead prefer to build faith via testimonies (own and that of others). Faith that comes from testimonies does not come easy and can be shaky.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You alone are God and You never change for only in You is perfection. In your Name is power for your Name manifests who You are. Lord we pray we become strong in faith by knowing You through your Word instead of depending on experiences and testimonies...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 8:5-10
5  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this [man], Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth [it].
10  When Jesus heard [it], he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Dated 20 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Edification and not Motivation

1 Corinthians 2:3, 4  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

In the corporate world to achieve goals almost all team leaders will give motivation speech to their subordinates. In the Church too we find Preachers focus on motivation speeches, TV Evangelist especially do an excellent job on it.

But when we look at the Bible we find at a bird’s eye view there is hardly any character who can be a motivational character. All of them had problems and struggled with them, some did overcome to some extend but then these too are not highlighted much. Even the Lord Jesus Christ said the words ‘do not fear for I have overcome’ only after His gruesome death and resurrection.

If you are hearing Preachers who give a lot of motivational speech, then you are in danger of spiritual destruction or spiritual inertia. Yes motivation or exhortation is good but should not be the prime purpose of preaching, it should follow edification. Edification includes correction and should precede all purposes. Repentance is key to baptism (which is a continual process) and repentance is all about correction, following or accepting the right path while shedding the wrong.

Let us introspect our lives and the impact of those whom we have been ministering to us spiritually, if they did bring correction, edification or have left us in circles while making us feel good.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord have made the Heavens and our creation. Although You made us and said it is good yet You have set us not to remain the same but to grow and be blessed in You. Lord we pray we understand You are God of prosperity not that of this world but of the spirit, that which is permanent...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
1 Corinthians 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men [to] edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Dated 19 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mai

Public Speaking - Preaching

2 Corinthians 11: 6  But though [I be] rude {untrained} in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.

All famous Preachers are good public speakers, they know how to hold the attention of the audience over a long period of time. They know what words to speak, how to modulate and when to modulate their voice. Even a simple thing like pausing is very important when used in the right place.

People do not give due attention to what is said but more, how it is said. If one notes down what Preachers are preaching one will not find anything new. They confirm the source of their preaching as not from the Lord but from the knowledge of man.

Bible says those who have an encounter with the Lord, their bellies will be like living streams of living water, flowing revelations coming from the Lord.

Paul was a man who if existed today would be rejected to preach in most Churches the reason being he was a very bad preacher. He was an untrained orator and if he preached a little long, people would dose off. His enemies too came to know his weakness and thus exploited it to the max, when they had to accuse him before a council, they did not chose a person knowledgeable of the laws but chose a good orator to speak against him and they saw success.

Public speaking is important but without content it is junk food which over a period becomes very harmful, which can lead to spiritual death.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are God. You Lord see the hearts and minds of people and are not fooled by words. Lord we pray we are not deceived by vain words but pay attention to what we heard from people who take your Name. Put people with streams of living water into our lives and give us the patience to hear them...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name.

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 20:9  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.

Acts 24:1  And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and [with] a certain orator [named] Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.

1 Timothy 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2 Timothy 4:14-16
14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
16  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all [men] forsook me: [I pray God] that it may not be laid to their charge.

Dated 18 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Support System

1 Thessalonians 3:1,2  Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

Yesterday I had posted a message on knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and in one of the whatsapp group there were 2 persons who questioned my understanding on who the Lord Jesus Christ is. In our conversations it came out of one of them that he believe Jesus Christ would be in human form for eternity, even after He finishes His mission of salvation of man. What was more disturbing is that person was a Pastor in a main stream Church!

Paul and team wrote letters and physically interacted mainly with Churches which struggled in their faith or things foundational to the understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. So to Churches like that in Berea had received no letters, nor regular visits. The Church at Thessalonica a Church who were initially considered well developed were thus sidelined by Paul’s team but later Paul realized they struggled pertaining Judgment Day and it was not a small matter to ignore.. Both the letters and even visits like that of Timothy were mainly to clear their queries on this matter.

Hebrews 6:1-2 list the foundational doctrine which is essential / foundational for a Christian. Anyone not clear in anyone of amongst them would become an unstable Christian and possibly a person who could mislead others.

Doctrine of Christ
Repentance
Works of righteousness v/s works of faith
Baptisms (both in Christ and in the Holy Spirit)
Laying of hands
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal Judgment

What is of great worry is almost all Churches do not cover all the seven topics fully in their foundational courses and that makes many unstable and potential misleads to others. It is for this reason we have most Christians declaring the second coming of Jesus Christ would happen every time there was some major disaster.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord created the Heavens and our creation. All things are created by You for purpose and until that purpose is not complete the end will not come. Lord we pray we understand your purpose and be focused on it. It is us who can quicken your coming by full filling your purpose in our lives and lives of those given unto us...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.  

[Reference Scriptures]
Hebrews 6:1-3
1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3  And this will we do, if God permit..

Dated 16 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Casting your care upon Him

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

We have heard many Preachers preach about how to cast all our care unto the Lord for He cares for us. They go on to emphasize about the word ‘casting’ literally means to throw. This they do because someone took the trouble to check the actual meaning of the Greek word ‘epirrhipto’ which is translated as casting.

Even in all this they do not realize what they preach is about being carefree, which is not the characteristic which God emits. This is where discernment matters.

If we go into the two Greek words translated as ‘care’ in the scripture is not the same, the first word ‘merimna’ translated as care actually means ‘anxiety’ and not ‘care’ while the other word ‘melo’ means ‘care’. In Greek the word ‘merimna’ (anxiety) literally means to divide. It means when someone keeps on analyzing all permutations and combinations of a situation even before it takes place!

Our relationship with the Lord and His Kingdom is a responsible relations like marriage is. It is more than man with man - trust relationship based on experiences but a faith built relationship based on His Word. We know He does not let His Name down and imagine when He has lifted His Word above His Name, would He let it down?

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord have made the Heavens and Creation and all things in it with design. You made the Angels and man in your image for a purpose. Lord we pray we understand You are there with us and therefore we should not be anxious declaring You non-existent...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Philippians 4:6  Be careful {anxious} for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Psalms 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Hebrews 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Psalms 34:15  The eyes of the LORD [are] upon the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their cry.

Luke 12:11-12
11  And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and [unto] magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
12  For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Dated 08 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

We are getting Upgraded!

Philippians 3: 21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

People actually do not understand that humans were exiled from Heaven and God being a righteous God does not change a decision He has taken, but He does make a way out without breaking His own Word which is a Law even for Him.

Since God desires man to fellowship in Him thus He has to transform us into higher beings than humans, and Jesus said in resurrection we will be like Angels. We also see the resurrected saints who come with Jesus Christ in His second coming are also referred to as Angels in other verses.

We will be no man’s son, daughter, wife, husband, etc. for all earthly relationships will perish since Angels, being spirit beings do not have earthly genders like male, female. Angels are also referred to as Sons of God. Jesus Christ – God the Son humbled Himself and become a Son of God so that we too become like Him. We have hope because He became an example and said we too will overcome after He transfigured.

When we are born again the image within us becomes more and more into Sons of God () thus on Judgment Day all the sheep will transform / transfigure in to Angels while the goats into fallen angels. Thus the Spirit reveals everything.

I laugh when Catholic claim Mary is their ‘Heavenly Mother’ imagine in Heaven they find Mary as another Angel; no one’s mother, sister or daughter!

Let us not try to fool God or even our own selves by putting on a false righteousness, but truly walk in His ways because we will be judges by what we are inside, when we do the Father’s Will with the help of the Holy Spirit we become His Sons else we become fallen angels the devils children. Devil in OT is also referred to as She-Goat.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord have put your Word above You, thus it is Law even to You. Lord we pray we understand we will no longer be human after resurrection but transform in a blink of an eye into Sons of God – Angels. We pray we do not hold on to our flesh or our earthly relationships, but surrender unto your Will...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Psalms 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Mark 3:9-12
9  And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him:
10  for he had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon him that they might touch him.
11  And the unclean spirits, whensoever they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God {The God The Son}.
12  And he charged them much that they should not make him known.

Matthew 17:2  and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light.

Revelation 18:1  After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

Acts 10:30  And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Matthew 22: 30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 3:13  To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints

Jude 1:14  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Matthew 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Dated 05 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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Goodness and Severity

Romans 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

There are 2 types of discernments we are connected with one is natural discernment which is concerning inputs that come through our natural senses like sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. We all are born with some level of discernment in this area, for it is inherited.

The other discernment is moral discernment which connects to the spiritual world thus called spiritual discernment / moral values. This too each and every one has some quantity, but this quantity varies from those who are of God and those who are not.

Spiritual growth is when we increase in both these discernments. True spiritual knowledge, wisdom and understanding helps strengthen and grow these two discernments.

In today’s scripture Paul talks of goodness and severity. The Greek word ‘chrestotes’ translated as ‘goodness’ comes from the root word ‘chrestos’ which means ‘fit to use’. The other Greek word is ‘apotomia’ that is translated as ‘severity’ and means ‘rigorous’ / ‘sharply’.

The prime characteristics of a Christian is discernment and enthusiasm. If any Christian lacks these two characteristics then his or her belief is in question. Let us get it into us that if anyone is spiritually blind or lame he or she will not enter the Kingdom of God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord made the Heavens and this creation for a purpose and that is to be blessed in You. Lord we pray we understand unless we put on your Name / Nature we will not be qualified to become one with You. We pray as we know You and walk in your ways we grow spiritually and in passion for the things of your Kingdom...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
2 Samuel 5:5-8
5  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
6  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither.
7  Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
8  And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [smite] the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul. Wherefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.

Matthew 11:5  the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them.

Matthew 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Dated 04 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

More I love you less I be loved

2 Corinthians 12: 15  And I will very gladly spend {wasted} and be spent {totally wasted} for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

Love is a term which everyone talks of, or uses in their conversation; many even claim to love others but what will surprise you is there is hardly a handful who really understand the meaning of love. Things like attraction, compassion, lust, craving, obsession, liking, possessiveness etc.. are mistaken for love. The only term known to man which comes very close to love is charity, which man does in very small or restricted amounts.

Man did not know love until Christ manifested love by His sacrifice. People think in love one has to be kind and gentle, but that is not true. If one truly loves a person there will be times one will rebuke and chastise the person. Love is all about edifying and prospering the other person. There are people who think, to love means to give; that also is not true. Charity is done only with the purpose to edify, many a times we may destroy the other person by blindly giving. God also does not do that; that is why ‘Prosperity Gospel’ is not of God but of the Devil.

In today’s scripture Paul talks of true love to those of Corinth and he says the more and more he loves them, more he will not be liked by them. They were people who walked feebly in spirit and thus were corrected many a times, this they did not like.

Let us not be mistaken by people who be good to us or talk sweetly, as people who love us. They would just be diplomatic people or people trying to keep us at arm’s length by words. If a Pastor loves his congregation he would be a person who speaks sweetly in Church during service but a person who does connect with his congregation on regular basis. He would be a person correcting and guiding the person, not just saying ‘good’, ‘good’. Let us know those who love us so as to cherish them and not be like the Corinthians to dislike them.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord have made the Heavens and Earth and all in it for a purpose. There is nothing You do without purpose. All your purposes are to prosper and not to destroy that is why all your plans are light and not darkness. Those who walk in light experience no shaking but those who are feeble in their walk do experience shaking. Lord we pray we strengthen our feeble legs and open our eyes to see and know your love, so that we love others like You do...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
2 Corinthians 7:3  I speak not [this] to condemn [you]: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with [you].

John 10:10-11
10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.
11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

1 Thessalonians 2:8  So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

Dated 03 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Be dead to the doctrines of man

Colossians 2: 20-22 Wherefore {therefore} if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments {elements} of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines {teachings} of men?

Yesterday we had received the message about distancing ourselves from people who do not discern right from wrong and put traditions of man about the laws of God. Today again in the scripture given to us the Lord wants to underline about the necessity of not following these doctrines and commandments of man which go against the principles of God.

We as Christians are called to die to the flesh to be alive in Christ. Dying to the flesh does not only simply mean stopping evil habits, it also means putting aside vanity, things which are senseless and do not edify. One example about vain habits is gossip. Gossip may not necessarily mean spreading lie, but even facts which by discussing does not benefit anyone is considered as gossip.

Yesterday someone was debating with me about another tradition followed by Indians of touching the feet of parents or elders. They think it is about respect. They do not realize the reason Hindus touch the feet of another person is because they consider humans are gods (devas – divine beings). The word ‘Baghwan’ means god-man, it does not refer to God but to human gods. Since they do not know God they consider people / fallen angels as gods.

What is important is to build discernment than to beat people about not doing human traditions. I have some ‘extremist Christians’ who do not preach about God or about discernment but only talk about not doing this or not doing that, it breaks people and causes God to be put in the background and laws to be put above all, something like Judaism.

Just to share an example I did not allow my daughter to pierce her ears to put ear-rings and still she does not, while others (adults) in my family I have not been stern but simply advised them, told them the reason and left it to them to discern. One person kept on losing her ear rings again and again every time I pulled her up, that too of gold, thus I had to keep silent.

Let us built people from inside so that they can stand on their own and do not need our support every time..

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are Merciful and full of Compassion yet You are Righteous. You do not let evil to god unpunished, but still You make a way for the doer to change so that evil alone gets punished and the doer is saved. Lord we pray we build people and do not become like walking sticks which they always depend on...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
1 Corinthians 3:2-3
2  I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able [to bear it]: nay, not even now are ye able;
3  for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men?

John 4:
31  In the mean while the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
32  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not.
33  The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought him [aught] to eat?
34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work.

Dated 02 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Withdraw from them that walk disorderly

2 Thessalonians 3: 6  Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition {teachings} which he received of us.

In India and in fact many parts of the world people blindly follow any nonsense in the name of traditions, even if it goes against their belief or simple against basic principles of sensibility, yet they will follow it will all passion.

Yesterday in India people from the state of Kerala celebrated a feast called ‘Onam’. This feast has become an identity tag to Malayalis (people of Kerala who speak Malyalam). Irrespective of what religion they follow they celebrate this festival and make decorative designs with colors or flowers at doorsteps as a sign to welcome. All will wear their traditional keralite clothes. Many tag it with harvest feast thus make multiple veg dishes and eat on traditional banana leaves instead of plates.

The sad part of all this is Christians do not use discernment or even basic wisdom and thus jump into this grand folly. They are fooled to think this is about victory of the caste system when the hero of this King Mahabali / Bali is actually a fictitious / mythological character. They believe his spirit comes to dwell with them at this time so they welcome his spirit with decorations and dressing well.

It is so sad that even great anointed people do not speak out and correct those who are walk disorderly. It is good that people like Paul do not exist in our time or many ‘Christian Churches’ would have been tagged as heretic or infidels. The actual problem is we have a famine of discernment in Christian Churches and that is why we have been living on milk since ages.

We Christians do celebrate the feast of harvest – Pentecost, yet we do not celebrate the harvest of the land, we celebrate the harvest of souls of the Kingdom of God. That is why even though there were two harvest feasts in the OT yet we celebrate only one. Also Keralites or all south Indians do not know it was Christian missionaries along with Indian leaders who found for equality between castes and gender in south India and not some mythological characters. Just a hundred years back south women of lower caste were not allowed to cover their torso as sign of their inferiority and had to pay taxes to the village head if they did.

Let us grow up and start making our feeble feet strong. Let us remember those who are spiritually blind or lame will not enter Zion the Kingdom of God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. Lord we pray we stop being babies and start to grow spiritually. We pray we make our feeble feet strong and walk in discernment not in folly. We pray your people do not become victims of vanity but walk in light...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

1 Timothy 6:14  That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Matthew 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell [it] unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen {unbeliever} man and a publican {carnal person}.

Dated 01 Sept 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Grace and Salvation

Philippians 3: 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

When we talk to any Church going ‘Christian’, one will find they are very confident of going to Heaven. They have a simple argument since they are under grace then they are saved thus they go to Heaven.

Today’s scripture is from the letter written by Paul and here we find he uses the word ‘IF’ / ‘WHETHER’ he attends resurrection. I do not think our Church going ‘Christians’ are more stronger in faith than Paul or have a better relationship with the Lord than Paul did, yet they are very confident while Paul was not when he wrote this letter.

To understand Paul one needs to analyze the scripture properly. He does use a conditional word ‘if’ in the start and also uses the general term ‘resurrection of the dead’ at the end. He puts all resurrections together at the end and does not say each one will resurrect as they die anywhere in any of his letters.

By our faith we are saved from Hell and sleep in Christ until Judgment Day, when all resurrect and face judgment. Only those who do the will of the Father are the ones who enter Heaven. Christians are misled by the mistranslation of Luke 23:43 in English Bibles where the word ‘today’ is used instead of ‘that-day’. They do not realize Jesus died on the cross, went to Hell and on the third day rose again. He even told Mary Magdalene on the third day to not touch Him since He had not yet ascended to the Father. All sacrifices ended with sprinkling of the blood in the Holies of Holies.

By going to Church one does not become a Christian only those who step out of Church to become Church, become true Christians. I have mentioned before the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ is a compound word which does not simply mean gathering, or congregation but speaks of group of people out on a mission.

It is only when we step out of our comfort zones and witness Christ, that we become Christians (Disciples of Christ). All Christians (Disciples of Christ) will go to Heaven but all Believers will not, for among Believers are both sheep and goats. Goats (children of Satan – she goat) will receive punishment more than Hell.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are Holy God and You desire relationship with your Creation, thus they need to be made holy so as to dwell with You. Lord we pray we understand grace is not given to those with zero balance therefore we need to work our faith. We pray we also understand we cannot take grace for granted and need to walk the Way – to be like Jesus...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Christ…

[Reference Scriptures]
Luke 23:40-43
40  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42  And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.
43  And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

John 20:17  Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.

Philippian 3: 10-12
10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Romans 14:10  But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.

Acts 2:34  For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

Dated 31 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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Christianity is not a religion seeking Peace

Romans 15:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

In many religions the primary goal of those who follow them is to seek peace. We have religions like Buddhism and Jainism which primarily seek peace within themselves and their surroundings. We also have religions like Islam and even Judaism that justify seeking peace even through violence. Religions like Hinduism or Taoism/Daoism are totally confused about the team ‘peace’ because it does not distinguish between good and bad and feel both are eternal, but the balance between them is necessary even though they will always be against each other.

When a country works a peace treaty with another country they always have neutral countries as signatories to that treaty so that if any dispute arrives in the future these witness may be party to resolve that issue through nonviolent means. When there is any peace that needs to be done with a terrorist organization then the country seek this peace looks out for negotiators that are respected by the terror group, and most of the time these negotiators are themselves in the business of terrorism.

The oldest known human peace treaty is the Treaty of Kadesh made between the Egyptians and Hittites, it is also called the ‘Silver Treaty’ or ‘Eternal Treaty’ which was made in the year 1259 BC. This treaty did not truly materialize for the atmosphere of enmity between the two parties continued. The longest materialized treaty known till date is the one between USA and Morocco and known as the ‘Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship’, it is about 280 years old, this treaty has lasted because one of the parties to this treat is far superior and powerful than the other, also this party is a non-aggravator.

Treaty between 2 equal parties with one being an aggravator does not last nor does peace with a more powerful aggravator lasts.

Peace is neither a blessing nor a curse; peace simply means no violence, no war, no aggression or evil against the other party.

Christianity is totally misunderstood to be a religion seeking peace. We need to understand God does not punish us for our sins but we suffer our sins which become like eternal burning coals of fire within us after we die. The only way to not suffer sin is when we go beyond peace. When we seek a blessing, a boon from God that happens when we are welcomed in His dwelling place where there is no suffering.

Today’s message speaks of not stopping at peace but taking that step ahead of seeking edification of one another.

Jesus by His sacrifice made peace between God and man but did not stop there, He knew to really save us we need to be promoted, blessed, transformed to greater beings and thus gave His Spirit who works on us and does the job of edifying us.

Let us not be a foolish people following the vanity of the world, but with wisdom follow God and His ways. Let us not simply seek peace but seek to be a blessing and edification of others so that we too are edified by the Lord.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are Omnipotent God and to destroy those who go against You does not even require You to snap your fingers. Lord a part of You humbled yourself and became man and negotiator of peace between yourself and us. You did not stop there but also gave us your Spirit so that we are truly saved by being reconciled in You, promoted in Spirit. We pray we understand this and not stop at making peace even with our fellowmen but also be a blessing to them...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 5: 43-48
43  Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:
44  but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;
45  that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.
46  For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others?] do not even the Gentiles the same?
48  Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Luke 6:27-29
27  But I say unto you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you,
28  bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.
29  To him that smiteth thee on the [one] cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also.

John 15:22-27
22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23  He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24  If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25  But [this cometh to pass], that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me:
27  and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Dated 30 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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All things put under His feet

1 Corinthians 15: 27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under [him, it is] manifest {evident} that he is excepted {excluded}, which did put all things under him.

When one talks to a Jew even though they know Hebrew and are considered most intelligent people yet are ignorant of the basic fact that Yahweh refers to Christ and not God the Father. When one looks at the belief of Catholics who call themselves as people who believe in Christ, they have pictured God the Father as an old man and the Holy Spirit as a cloud or dove. Heaven for them is another earth with humans dwelling there in flesh and blood.

Many of the nonsense traditions and beliefs of both the Jews and Catholics are found in Believer Churches. Most Believers do not know that in Genesis 1:1 the term God used there refers to God the Son who came as man Jesus Christ, it was He who created all things in Heaven and our creation. When we say we are part of His body it also includes the Angels in Heaven. He created humans in flesh and blood lower than the Angels not to remain in it but to be promote to greater beings like Angels.

There are some truths that need to be registered deep into us. When Jesus said ‘no being’ [mistranslated as man] had seen the Father other than the Son (John 1:18), it includes everything that was created by Him. Also when Jesus said He came from the Father and will return to Him, He meant it in totality. In the same scripture of John 1:18 where it says no being has seen the Father there it says He existed in the bosom (within) the Father and was made know. God (both Father and Son) is Spirit and yet the Holy Spirit is also written as the Spirit of the Son as well of Spirit of the Father since the Son came from the Father.

Today’s scripture talks of God the Son who made everything for a purpose bring everything under His subjection for the one reason of making a spectacle forever of what happens to evil. It is only after doing this does He return to be one with the Father.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You alone are God and there is none other than You, thus You said You are Who You are [I AM WHO I AM]. Lord we pray we know You more and more for in knowing You we have authority over every situation since all are subject to You...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Colossians 1:15-17
15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.

John 1: 18  No man {being} hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom {creek} of the Father, he hath declared [him]

Galatians 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

John 16:28  I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

Matthew 22: 30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Dated 29 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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Times and Seasons

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

The Greek word translated as ‘time’ is ‘chrono’ from which we get the word ‘chronology’. The term is to do with events and not the units of time. Also the Greek word translated as ‘seasons’ is the word ‘kairos’ which refers to measure. So we see Paul is speaking in today’s scripture about events and their durations, he refers more to future events not just the present.

When the pandemic started we saw great panic amongst people especially with videos being circulated in social media of Chinese citizens falling suddenly on the streets, dying instantly and people fearing to touch their bodies. We also had videos circulated of infected households been nailed shut with planks and cops with machine guns shooting those who yet came on the streets making it like scenes of some horror movie. We also saw serpentine queues of people standing for food during the relaxed periods.

In the initial period we had many Christians posting on social media of how the end times were at hand and how the Lord Jesus Christ was going to suddenly appear in the sky any time.

Yesterday US crossed 6 million with Brazil and India following with 3 million infected. Coming to deaths US leads with 183 thousand with Brazil a few steps behind at 117 thousand and India at 60 thousand.

Today the number of people climbing rooftops and shouting about end-times have drastically reduced, because people have learnt to adjust with the virus and people dying due to it has not troubled them like before. The foolishness and greed of a handful key leaders has caused this simple virus to become a pandemic causing about 25 million infected and 830 thousand deaths worldwide. Sometime in history these people will be shamed greater than the fame they receive today.

Today’s message is not to point fingers to those in power but is about those Christians who got caught with foot in the mouth situation, both those who prophesied doomsday and those who became mediums of spreading the virus and death by making the danger look like a conspiracy.

The Thessalonians were much more mature than the other Churches thus Paul did not shoot letters to them for basic spiritual matters but wrote to them for a key issue. They knew about important prophecies given in the Bible and also knew their durations but did not know about their timeline (as to when).

We as children of God are called to be people of the day, walking in light and not in darkness. The Lord recorded key events of the future in the Bible because we are called to be aware of them, so as to not panic or be misused. We are not called to be asleep on the Day of the Lord for those who do He will come as a thief, there are many to will scream, shout, throw tantrums at the wrong time and after getting tired will sleep when the right time comes.

Let us not go by loose talk but have proper study of scriptures to know the times and seasons, along with their timelines..

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are omnipresent and thus time and space is not a factor for You, You see all and know all. Lord we pray Lord we who are called to be children of day do not grope in dark. You Word is not only lamp to feet to tell us about ourselves and our surrounding, but also light to our path so as to tell and warn us of the times. May your Word in it truth dwell in our hearts...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
1 Thessalonians 5:1-7
1  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6  Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.
7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

Acts 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Dated 27 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Holy Mount

2 Peter 1:18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount..

We see many ‘Christians’ term water or oil as ‘holy’ and use it for many religious purposes. When I go to minister at Churches, even though people receive anointing on laying of hands yet I find some people coming to me with a bottle of oil and asking me to apply the oil and anoint them or pray over a bottle of oil so that they can apply it as and when required. When I politely refuse them I see their faces turn disappointed. I know of famous preachers who sell ‘blessed oil’ like a general stores.

In the Catholic Church any and every object that has a picture of ‘Mary’, ‘Jesus’ or ‘Saints’, or even religious symbols and prayed over are considered ‘holy’. Catholics would be shocked to know the sources of the pictures of the so called ‘Mary’, Jesus’ or Biblical ‘Saints’, also how this business of holy objects started with a Pope conning people by selling duplicate relics.

The term ‘holy’ is very misunderstood term and confused with being sanctified and perfect. When Jesus as man was called perfect / translated as ’good’ we find He saying only God is ‘good’. Also we find in Heaven the Angle worship God with shouts of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ a characteristic unique to Him.

Today’s verse has Peter sharing about the encounter he had with the transfigured Jesus on a high mountain. Peter addresses the mount as ‘holy’ but we see he does not name the mount. The same is the case with Moses’ encounter with the ‘Angel of the Lord’ manifesting as a burning bush and the Lord speaks from the bush as telling Moses to remove his shoes while approaching near since the place was holy.

The mount was holy (sanctified) for that moment when the presence / glory of the Lord was there. It does not mean the mountain by itself remained to be holy. We too are called holy when the presence or glory of the Lord is amongst us that is why in many places it is written we are called to be a holy people, meaning to carry the glory of God. Also with regards to being Holy / Perfect as God, that is possible only when we enter Heaven and become a part of Him as Christ returns to the Father and becomes one with the Father.

Holiness, Righteousness and Truth are Fruits of the Spirit they are mentioned in Ephesians 5:9 and not along with the other 9 Fruits of Galatians since we receive these as gifts from the Father, Son and Spirit respectively.
 
Let us seek holiness (sanctification) while here on earth and pursue the Fruit of Holiness (perfection) in Heaven when we along with the Angels are united with the Father.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are Holy and You alone are Holy. A part of You gave up this perfection and humbled yourself to become your creation so that we who are chosen may become holy in You. Lord we pray we seek sanctification thus carry your glory here on earth and also seek perfection in Heaven in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 17:1-9
1  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6  And when the disciples heard [it], they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7  And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8  And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9  And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Exodus 3:1-5
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.
2  And 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.
3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here [am] I.
5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground.

Matthew 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

John 10:36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

1 Peter 2:9  But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Dated 26 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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Ship of Assurance

Acts 27: 6  And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.

The Centurion and his men were in a ship of Adramyttium (a place in Africa), and at Myra he put Paul with a few his men including himself on to a ship of Alexandra (a place in Egypt).

This ship of Alexandra had made an unscheduled stop at Myra due to bad weather at sea. This ship was a very large ship and amongst the biggest ships during those times. Its cargo was mainly wheat from Egypt designed for Rome. The ship being a cargo ship and already overladen with cargo and did not allow all of them onboard thus the centurion had to choose who would board it. He did this switch because he thought in this rough weather a larger ship would be safer than a smaller ship and we know about the shipwreck that happened later.

We always think bigger is better and safer, thus love to move to bigger Churches, bigger congregations or associate with Men or Women of God having bigger banner / popularity.

We should remember the Churches during the time of the Apostles were successful because they operated with smaller congregations. Like in a school we seek personal attention thus small batches so also Churches should be of a size where the Pastor can delicate personal attention to every member.

Problem of people hopping from one Church to another does not lie only with the people but also with the Church leaders, the main reason is Church leaders do not work along with each other as one team but fight against each other. They preach to the people to be one, united in the Body of Church but they themselves have great problems with their own brethren.

My family fellowships at a Church near my house which does not believe in any denomination even though it carries the word ‘Baptist’ in its name. Last Sunday we had a Pastor from a large Pentecostal Church sharing the Word on our online service, before that we had Preachers from Methodist and various other Churches, administering the congregation. This is one of the reasons I find comfort here.

Let us work as one body having various parts. Let not all the parts try to become one big part. Let us concentrate on quality and not quantity. Let us not concentrate on increasing numbers of the flock but concentrate on increasing the numbers of sheep, not goats in the flock. Let us keep our safety in the Lord and not in numbers.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord made the Heaven and Earth (our creation). Although You made billions and billions of people but the people who will be blessed in You are a small number compared to the whole. Lord we pray we seek quality and not quantity. We pray we keep our security in You and not in numbers and mathematical probabilities...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 27:2,6,14-15,27-32,40-44
2  And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; [one] Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
6  And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.
14  But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
15  And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let [her] drive.
27  But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;
28  And sounded, and found [it] twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found [it] fifteen fathoms.
29  Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
30  And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,
31  Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
32  Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
40  And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed [themselves] unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.
41  And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
42  And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
43  But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from [their] purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast [themselves] first [into the sea], and get to land:
44  And the rest, some on boards, and some on [broken pieces] of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Dated 20 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Law our tutor unto Christ

Galatians 3: 24, 25 So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

When we read today’s scripture we will assume it speaks of law of God being a teacher who bring us to Christ and now that we have faith then we do not require the law; this is incorrect.

The Commandments of God instate a measure of guilt which otherwise may not exist, so when we do wrong the Commandment causes our guilt to prick us. The Greek word ‘paidagogos’ translated as ‘tutor’ is a compound word which means to lead a small infant or child, that is why in some translations it is translated as ‘schoolmaster’ or ‘guardian’.

Faith is our believe in the Truth/Word of God. We come unto Christ only when we are rooted in His Word and if we are have faith then we do not need the Commandments to prick us and cause our guilt to condemn us, for the truth (Word) will do that job. In fact the truth does a more serious job than what the law does.

To know the love of God one need to know the truth for only through the truth/Word we know the actual meaning of love and how God loved us. People mistake emotions to love and mistake their emotional connect to the Lord as love. People who lack faith and think Commandments are not for them, since the love of God dwells in them are in great danger of destruction.

Let us be cautious of people who give emotional preaching of Christ or those who operate in Gifts but are not well rooted in His Word. These people will cause us to be passionate for the Lord with a passion which like a balloon will burst instantly any day, or cause miracles to happen in our lives only if connected to them.

Jesus said only when we know the truth, stay in His truth (be His disciples) will we be set free.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. We pray Lord we seek You more than seek of You. May we realize when we know You all that is of You will surely be received of us even without asking. We pray we seek the truth and remain in the truth so that we overcome one day...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Deut 4: 33-35
33  Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?
34  Or hath God assayed to go [and] take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35  Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him.

John 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

Hebrews 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? [was it] not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

Jude 1:5  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

John 8:31-32
31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Dated 19 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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Drank of the Rock yet displeased the Lord

1 Corinthians 10: 4, 5  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

We see the Israelites who were saved from grave suffering in Egypt saw great miracles at the hand of the Lord. Even after they suffered and saw great miracles yet their hearts were in Egypt for that country was very developed as per those times and their expectation of the place where Moses would take them was very high and crossover very simple. But when they saw the journey to the Promised Land was difficult they started doing things that angered the Lord. Their 15 days journey became a many years journey.

Today’s scripture talks of them drinking from the Rock that followed them. If we look at scriptures there were 2 rocks that gave them water in impossible situations, one was the rock which Moses was instructed to strike (representing the man Jesus) and the other rock which Moses was told to simply speak to for water (which represented the Holy Spirit). The Greek word used here for Rock is Petra meaning cliff and not Petros (Peter - meaning stone) also the word Yahweh YHWH points to Lord Jesus Christ and not God the Father.

Today’s scripture tells us even though these Israelites who saw the glory of God and had personal encounter with the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit yet they perished in the desert because their hearts were not right towards God.

Salvation is ‘predetermined’ and not ‘predestined’ as mistranslated in some scriptures in Ephesians. There is great difference between the two. One talks of the story in general and the other specific to a participant in that story.

The story is written, victory assured and winners declared. The names in the Book of Life are not earthly names but spiritual names. We will be in the Book of Life only if we stand up to that spiritual name. Individual victory is only if we remain in Him and do not backslide. Unless we do not cross the finish line being in Him we will perish in the wilderness like the former Israelites.

So let us not boast about our personal testimony in Christ and His goodness in our lives, but keep them more as a reminder to ourselves of how He changed things for us when there was no hope.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord do not desire sacrifice of animals but sacrifice of a circumcised heart. Lord we pray we circumcise our carnal nature and set our hearts right according to the Lord. We pray we do not take You for granted or grieve the Holy Spirit like Moses did symbolically by striking the second Rock and failed to enter the Promised Land…

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Exodus 17:6  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Numbers 20:8-12
8  Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9  And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10  And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts [also].
12  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Ephesians 1:5,11
5  Having predestinated {predetermined} us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated {predetermined} according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Dated 18 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Children of the bondwoman have no inheritance

Galatians 4: 30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

When a person who has no proper understanding of the Bible reads today’s scripture would think God denied inheritance to a slave’s son.

Firstly amongst the Israelites they did not have slaves. Every person was paid for either prepaid or postpaid, prepaid means they had to serve to pay for their dues and postpaid were those who doing a job and commented to a bond period of max 7 years. Both these category had rights, such that their children were also looked after by their boss. On the other hand slave is one who has no rights, no privileges and this term is only once used that to in NT (Rev), as man being slaves to carnal nature.

Hagar gave birth to Ismael and Islam is a religion that considers Ishmael has the chosen one. Eid al-Adha / Bakri Eid was celebrated lately, where Muslim’s kill a sacrificial goat believing Abraham sacrificed a goat for the sake of Ishmael twisting the fact it was done for Isaac. Today’s scripture speaks of Muslims not having any inheritance of the Lord in Heaven. It does not end there.

On Judgment Day the flock of Christ (those who believe in Him) are judged where the sheep are separated from the goats. The term goats is used for these people who know God yet deny His Will because they are children of the she-goat which is a term given to devils (Satan) in the OT. It was for this reason people made statues of Baphomet (idols with a goat’s head). We find the Israelites who worshipped God also worshipped the goddess Ashtoreth also called ‘Queen of Heaven’ and among Christians we find they worship a spirit that claims to be Mary the mother of Jesus, also addressed as ‘Queen of Heaven’. Her ‘children’, that means both Jews and Catholic (including all those who worship her) will not inherit Heaven.

If one checks the website of the Vatican one finds the contrary stating all these 3 categories will have rights to go to Heaven if they live a ‘good life’. Now this ‘good life’ is defined by humans and not according to God, it has nothing to do with righteousness.

Let us be careful of this bondwoman and in no way be connected to her in whatever form she appears.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. Lord we pray we be aware of the ways of Satan and discern him in whatever form he comes as. We pray we discern the bondwoman even when she comes in your name. We pray we are not led by emotions but led by the truth...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Genesis 16:7-12
7  And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8  And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12  And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Genesis 17:23, 25
23  And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
25  And Ishmael his son [was] thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Leviticus 17:7  And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils {she goat}, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

Deuteronomy 32:17  They sacrificed unto devils {she goat}, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Ezekiel 34:17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.

Jeremiah 7:18  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead [their] dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

John 8:44  Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Luke 2:34-35
34  And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this [child] is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35  (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Dated 17 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Finishing our race with joy

Acts 20: 24  But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God..

Salvation is a personal choice which means one cannot be saved by the choice made by another. Each and every one is eligible to be saved only when that person makes the decision to make the Lord Jesus Christ their Lord and Master, and follow Him.

People do not realize even though salvation is a personal choice yet it is a collective effort. That means we choose to be in the race but the (single) race is run by all of us. We do not race against each other but race together the same race like a relay. It is at the end that someone (two) overcomes and win the race for all.

The Greek word for running is trecho but the word used here is dromos more like a tenor or course. In both cases the mantle is handed over to the next person.

Our race as Christians does not depend just on our believing but more upon our walking (witnessing). It is only when we build others in Christ we run a successful race. But to have joy and not just satisfaction like Paul states in today’s scripture one needs to build many, strong in the Lord.

Let us ask ourselves if we are in the race or are simply standing at the starting point? If we are running are we running for satisfaction or for joy? If we set these important questions in our hearts then only will we do the mission of Christ more dedicatedly and diligently..

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are Merciful God. In your mercy You removed man from the Heavens so that he can we renewed and made eligible to return. You knew man was very weak thus since two caused the fall You desire only two to overcome on behalf of all that run the race. Lord we pray we all understand the importance of knowing even though we are weak we need to build others stronger than us, so that they continue the race better...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Mark 16:15-16
15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.

Matthew 28:19-20
19  Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20  teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

John 20: 21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

Revelation 11:3-12

Dated 14 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Prisoner in Emperor’s household!

Philippians 4: 22  All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.

Paul wrote this letter from Rome. He was a prisoner in Rome but favor was shown to him due to the incidents that happened on their journey to Rome (shipwreck) he was put under house arrest that too in an accommodation provided by Caesar. That is not all, he was not restricted movement but had armed soldiers accompanying him everywhere. Thus we had Paul preaching and debating about Christ in various households in Rome with Roman soldiers standing guard at the door and this itself became an attraction for people both Jews and gentiles to attend these gatherings in large numbers.

What is interesting is that the Caesar at that time was Nero, a person who is pictured as ‘a more worthless, cruel, and diabolic wretch’ in some commentaries and an evil character like Hitler in history. The main reason of this was his hatred against the Jews, he was instrument to killing millions of Jews and destroying (leveling) Jerusalem, a genocide the Jews will never forget.

Nero had no problems against Christians (heretic Jews – as pictured that time) therefore showed favor towards Paul and his team. The surprising fact was some of Nero’s relations had accepted Christianity, being a just person he had to put Paul to death according to Jewish laws.

Nero’s hate against Jews started due to a civil dispute with a synagogue need his palace. The Roman Emperor used to observe what the Jews did and the Jews did not want the Emperor to see what was happening in their synagogue, thus built a high wall towards to palace side. This angered Emperor and he got this wall demolished, the Jews in turn responded with rioting. This rioting was not a small incident but something that went on for a few days and angered Rome so much that set the foundation of their hatred towards the Jews. Yes there were other reasons before for the divide between the Jews and Romans but the wall incident became the trigger. A wall of a synagogue in Rome caused the wall of the Jerusalem temple along with the temple itself to be demolished and millions of Jews in Jerusalem to be killed (66 – 73 AD). The ‘sacred treasures’ of the temple were seized and shown off in a procession through the streets of Rome.

Today’s scripture is neither to condemn the Jews nor Nero. It is to show how God can cause favor even in the house of the enemy. Let us always remember our God is nothing is impossible for Him.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord are God and there is no other God other than You. Lord we pray we understand this truth and have it written in our hearts as the Law was written on stone tablets with your Finger (Holy Spirit). Lord we pray even in the times of danger we remember You are there and always there with us...
 
This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen..

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 18:2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

Psalms 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Dated 13 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Annas the High Priest

Acts 4: 6  And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

In today’s scripture speaks of Annas the High Priest of the Jews alone with his sons questioning the activity of the Apostles as to under what authority were they doing it. The reason was the Disciples of Jesus were Jewish and still part of the Jewish system. Christians were looked as a denomination of the Jews right until 255 AD and faced persecution which was mended out to the Jews. Even in 255 AD the Roman Emperor who targeted the Christians died within 6 months of started it. It was only in 303AD that Christians really faced persecution that too after they did corrupted the beliefs and followed lots of nonsense.

The interesting facts of Annas is that he was a Sadducee and not officially a High Priest (referred to as Ananus by Josephus in his historical records). He was a substitute (the position had to be inherited) and played a lot of political games to maintain his position. He and his sons were key persons behind the crucifixion of Jesus, the person to plot His dead and the person to give consent to Him being nailed on the cross. He was so successful that even his five sons held this position of High Priests.

In the Jewish system positions were inherited and in Christianity positions are only by Lord’s selection. Yet we see ministries still follow the Jewish system of inheritance. The mantle of heading most leading ministries is passed from father to son so as to keep the money in the family. Like the Jewish Church had nothing to do with the Lord so also most Christian ministries today have nothing to do with the Lord’s Kingdom. Churches are a source of business for these ministries and that is why they are fighting tooth and nail to get them ‘started’. But the Lord Himself is against them.

I was reading yesterday in US people were conducting praise and worship in malls and casinos because of the restriction of low number of people to gather in a Church service. Most people got emotional but when we see the true purpose it has nothing to do with God. The early Christians faced similar problems and thus held most of their services underground (in houses) in small groups. Even though they worshiped the Lord in small groups yet they connected with all on personal level. The purpose of having gathering of large groups is not in the interest of the Lord but a business sense of the ministry leader. They seek quantity and not quality.

When these ‘Christians’ put their children to schools they demand small classes so that their children personal attention and grow but in Church they seek large gathering since it has nothing to do with growth. That is why Churches are filled with babies still connected by their umbilical cords.

Let us not anger God by trying to use Him for our carnal desires, there will come a day when He will set things against us. He is out to clean and restore His House.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. Scripture state that evil the fallen angels tremble at your Name but foolish man dares to use your name for his carnal desires. Lord we pray your people seek You in Spirit and Truth. Expose the malicious intensions of those who misrepresent You. Save your people from these people...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
John 11:47-49
47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48  If we let him thus alone, all [men] will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49  And one of them, [named] Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

Matthew 26:1-4
1  And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2  Ye know that after two days is [the feast of] the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
3  Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4  And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill [him].

Matthew 26:57, 59
57  And they that had laid hold on Jesus led [him] away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

Dated 11 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn

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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

That's the power of faith.

I pray you will show similar strength in times of testing. Satan will flee from you if you "resist him, firm in your faith".1 Pet. 5:9.

Memorize James 4:7 and Ephesians 6:17 as a reminder of the importance of resisting satan and use them as your sword and a shield.
Teleportation in Scriptures

Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

We have heard of people talking of how Jesus walked on water but greater natural miracles which He did has been over looked like that of teleportation.

Time travel (travel in different time zones) and teleportation (instant travel to a different place without physical movement but in the same time zone). These two concepts have fascinated man since long and science has always dreamt of them. Before it was purely part of science fiction concepts but today with theories like quantum jump (transformation of matter from one energy state to various other states), time wormholes (linking time to gravity and making it navigable) and others we find them on drawing boards of scientists. But when we read the Bible we see they were already part of history.

Teleportation is given both in the OT and NT. In the OT we see Elijah experiences it and in NT Philip and Jesus (in at least 3 occasions). Coming to time travel we find in OT in two occasions unnatural events connected to Sun navigation one connected to Joshua (being still) and other to Isaiah (reversing).

Scientifically both may possible because they assume certain factors; even if it is one small factor of assumption, it can change a false to sound true.

We may be able to change matter to energy and energy back to matter but changing energy from one level to another will also affect the source matter. Similarly linking time to gravity is an assumption with no real relationship. Light has being a ruler for measure of time of large magnitude and just because light bends with gravity does make time navigable. It is like playing with distances and shortening them by bending a ruler!

Science may one day even overcome the limitations of teleportation but then life is not matter or energy, factors moldable by science, thus cannot be moved from a place to another scientifically.

There are some factors of creation like life and time which is only in the hands of God for He alone is omnipresent and giver of life. Let us not limit God to a man, for Him all things are possible but then He does things beyond natural principles with reason and not without reason. If we have a genuine reason then for Him it is not impossible.

Today the Lord is telling us to be careful in what we believe. Let us not ignore the small details and assume any of them to be true without verification.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord created all things that exist. You are giver of life. As You spoke the Word time came into existence and thus You are not limited by time. We pray Lord we know You and do not make You limited as a man due to our ignorance. Let us not assume things even if they look unimportant...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
John 6: 21,25
21  Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
25  And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

John 20: 19  Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you..

1 Kings 18:10-12
10  [As] the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, [He is] not [there]; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
11  And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].
12  And it shall come to pass, [as soon as] I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

2 Kings 20:8-11
8  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
9  And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10  And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11  And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

Joshua 10:13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. [Is] not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

Dated 10 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

Fools glory after the flesh

2 Corinthians 11: 18, 19 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye [yourselves] are wise.

In today’s message the grammar is very important, if one does not inspect the grammar of the Greek verbs then one can misinterpret the scripture and be misled. The first glory has the TVM (Tone, Voice, Mood) Present, Middle or Passive Deponent, Indicative while the second glory has the TVM - Future, Middle Deponent, Indicative.

If we understand the grammar Paul was stating that the people of Corinth were glorying after the flesh and Paul said that he too could glory like them (but he did not). He then goes on to point the foolishness of glorying after the flesh.

We must have seen small children boasting to each other and when they do they get carried away and butter up facts with the buttering being more than the fact and then land up with greater than life stories. Looking at kids do it causes one to be amused but when the same thing is done by adults than it brings the opposite response. When people use such stories for entertainment it is called fairytales and when they start to believe in them, they are called mythology..

Getting to the Hebrew text we see there are many different words translated as boast and some amongst them actually mean to speak, exchange (communicate), shine and to be overweighed. We see the verb by itself is not bad but has a dual take. Yesterday we saw knowing the limit factor is key between pride and self-realization, the first leads to disaster and second to spiritual growth.

Why did we get this message again today?

The main reason of the Lord giving this message again is because this problem is a serious problem and suffered a lot by Men and Women of God. They do not realize they carry the mantle of the Lord and fail to realize between the working of the Lord through them and their work in the natural. They can take credit for their efforts in the natural but cannot take credit for the Lord’s work through them.

Let us not forget we are sanctified vessels of the Lord for the holiness of His people and it is the Lord who uses and serves through us. An iron dumbbell, a log of wood and even a bag of garbage can be used for weightlifting, all three can achieve the same results but that does not mean all three are the same.

Let us know who we are in Christ and not who we are, the ‘in Christ’ factor is very important. Let us see Christ working in and through us more than what we do. Let us always be meek (needy) in spirit.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord created the Heaven and Earth it all its beauty and said it is good. Lord let us understand the importance of self-realization. Let us not be fools to take credit for things not done by us. Make us meek in spirit so that we are always thirsty and hungry to receive more and more of You for service of your Kingdom...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Psalms 147:6  The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

Matthew 5:6  Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Dated 09 Aug 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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SavedbyFaith.info - Daily Mail

God does not test more than what you can bear

1 Corinthians 10: 13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

Paul in today’s scripture quotes Solomon (Ecclesiastes 6:1). When one sees this scripture one may think God is in control of all things and whatever happens will perish soon and we will have victory. But that is not the case. The word translated as temptation is the same word translated as testing.

The scripture speaks of the things that we are going through are the very same thing which others too have gone through, it is nothing new.

If we are thinking of the harshness of the pandemic which we are suffering, we should realize in recorded history there were minimum 6 pervious pandemics which the world has suffered and some of them lasted for more than 10years, killed more people than this one is expected to.

We should also note the original writer Solomon did not have complete success over all his tests. When he died he was still a worshipper of other gods/goddesses. His passion for beauty had overcome his sensibility and thus caused him to compromise..

Let us not take testing or temptation likely. Although God is in control of everything yet He does not believe in being a puppeteer. He sets the parameters and gives us the freedom of choice. Let us not take Him or His parameters for granted. Let us remain in the fence and His hedge of protection. The results are confirmed but us individually being in that good result is not known to us. So let us fight the battle and sustain the test as if our life depends on it.

Solomon failed the test but Paul who lived a sober life overcame his tests. The secret is living a sober life minus worldly baggage.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord You are Almighty God. You Lord created the Heaven and Earth and You made all things for a purpose. You allowed evil to put up its head so that it would be crushed, forever made an example. Lord You could have done it yourself in a moment, yet You made mere man to be the light that overcometh the darkness. We pray we understand the importance of our battle and know our battle field...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Ecclesiastes 6:1  There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it [is] common among men:

Ecclesiastes 5:13  There is a sore evil [which] I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

Matthew 24:21-22
21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

1 Kings 11:4-6
4  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, [that] his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as [was] the heart of David his father.
5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as [did] David his father.

2 Corinthians 11:24-28
24  Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one.
25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26  [In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren;
27  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

Dated 26 July 2020
Bro Rollwyn
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