₦airaland Forum

On a new episode of PulseTV’s “Frankly Speaking With Jola Sotubo”, music star Lynxxx talks about how he became born again.

The Nigerian artiste shares how he became a changed man and how this has affected his relationship with some friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry.
Watch below.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfoWDP8y29M&fulldescription=1&hl=en&gl=US&client=mv-google


https://www.bellanaija.com/2016/06/bn-tv-watch-lynxxx-talk-about-why-he-became-more-spiritual-the-effect-on-his-friendships-in-the-industry-more/

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This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series 5 Things You Should Know

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

I’m convinced most Christians don’t have a very good understanding of how God sees us. I’m not surprised about this because it’s really hard for us to comprehend. God sees us so differently from the way we see ourselves and the way others see us, that there’s really no comparison. It’s like He and we are looking at two different people. And in a way that’s true because we can only see ourselves from our past experience, but He has chosen to see us now as we will be in the future when we’re with Him forever. So let’s set aside how we see ourselves for a moment and take a look at five things the Bible says about how God sees us.

You Are His Child Forever

“ Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13 ).

How many times have you heard someone say, “We’re all God’s children.” Did you realize that’s not a true statement? Only a born again believers can legitimately call themselves children of God because one of the things that happens when we become born again is that God actually adopts us as His own.

Galatians 4:4-7 says the way to our adoption into the family of God was opened with the death of Jesus. As soon as we were born again we received the adoption to sonship, and the Spirit of God’s Son came into our heart. So we are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since we are his children, God has also made us His heir. This is why Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us the Holy Spirit was given to us as a deposit that guarantees our inheritance. As heirs of God we have an inheritance that no one can take from us.

From 2 Cor. 1:21-22 we learn that when we were born again, God set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our heart guaranteeing what is to come. Since then it’s God Himself who makes us stand firm in Christ. Having freed us from the one who held us in slavery, He set His own seal of ownership on us. We are no longer slaves but sons and daughters of God. Having been bought at a price, the precious blood of Jesus, we belong to God now, and no one can ever change that.

He has placed us under the care of His Son, as the owner of a flock of sheep would place them under the care of a shepherd. It’s the Father’s will that the Son should lose none of those He’s been given, therefore everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life (John 6:37-40 ).

This is not something we accomplished through any personal effort of our own. It’s a work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that cannot be undone. Nothing in all of creation can change what they have done in us (Romans 8:38-39 ) and no one can ever take us out of their hands (John 10:27-30 ). Once we are born again, we are God’s children forever.

You Still Sin, But He No Longer Counts Your Sins Against You

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit (Psalm 32:1-2 ).

In Psalm 32:1-2 King David foresaw this and in
Romans 7:15-24 Paul explained it. Having admitted that try as he might he just couldn’t completely stop sinning, he gave us God’s perspective on the matter. He said that when he sinned, it was no longer he himself who sinned, but the sin who lived within him.

Here’s what he meant. In Romans 7:9 Paul said,
“Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.” He was talking about reaching the age when he became accountable for his sins. Before that happened he was not accountable and had eternal life. It’s not that he didn’t sin before then, but his sins were not counted against him. However, as soon as he was old enough to be accountable, the penalty for his sins was applied and he no longer had eternal life.

Now let’s look at two seemingly unrelated statements Jesus made about what it takes to enter God’s Kingdom. In Matt. 18:3 He said,
“Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” And in
John 3:3 He said, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

By putting these together with Paul’s comments on accountability we can see the Lord’s two statements really weren’t unrelated at all. Remember, Paul said little children have eternal life because their sins are not counted against them. Jesus said in order to enter the Kingdom we have to become like little children again. But He also said in order to enter the kingdom we have to be born again. Therefore, the way to become like little children so our sins are not counted against us is to be born again.

The proof of this is when Paul was born again God no longer counted his sins against him, but attributed them to the sin that still lived within him. He had become like a little child again, not accountable for his sins, and had regained eternal life even though he couldn’t prevent himself from sinning.

You Are Perfect In His Sight , As Righteous As He Is

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14 ).

In Romans 3:20-24 Paul explained that no one will be declared righteous by keeping the Law because the purpose of the Law was to make us conscious of our sinfulness. Therefore, God made known a righteousness from Him apart from the Law that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, being justified freely by His grace.

From 2 Cor. 5:17 we learn that if anyone is in Christ he or she is nothing less than a new creation in Christ. “The old has gone, the new has come.” This is not something that will happen some day, or that we have to bring about ourselves by changing our behavior. It’s something that from God’s perspective has already happened and is irreversible. It happened because we are “in Christ” or born again.

This is possible because when His Son, who was without sin, became sin for us, God was able to make us as righteous as He is (2 Cor. 5:21 ). From His perspective we’ve become perfect forever because the Son’s one sacrifice for sin applies for all time, covering the entire lifetime of every believer (Hebews 10:12-14 ).

When Jesus went to the cross He forgave us all our sins (Colossians 2:13-14 ). Those who had already died believing He would come to save them were in Paradise awaiting His atoning sacrifice. When Jesus died, their sins were forgiven retroactively. Other believers were alive at the time of His death and received the benefits of His sacrifice immediately. Still others would not be born for many years, meaning all their sins were in the distant future. Their sins would be forgiven as soon as they heard the gospel and believed it no matter how far in the future that happened.

So even though the Lord’s death took place on a single afternoon in time, it had to apply for all time, past, present, and future. It also had to apply for the entire lifetime of each believer. Otherwise the phrase “He forgave us all our sins” could not be true. But because it is true, God can now see us as if we always have been and always will be perfect.

This is how He can guarantee our inheritance from the time we believed (Ephes. 1:13-14 ), and how He can assume responsibility for making us stand firm in Christ (2 Cor 1:21-22 ). Having already paid the penalty in full for all the sins of our life, He is able to regard us as being righteous, as if we never sinned in the first place. From His perspective we are innocent, like the little child Jesus said we have to become.

You Cannot Be Condemned For Any Reason

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 ).

Because of this, we can no longer be condemned for any reason. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:17 ).

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed over from death to life (John 5:24 ).

None of the above has required anything of you except to believe that when Jesus went to the cross, He went for you. Everything was settled for you the moment you believed that.

When You Stand Before God You Will Be As Perfect As He Is

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2 ).

At the moment of the rapture we will be instantaneously changed from mortal to immortal and what we are now by faith we will become in fact (1 Cor. 15:51-53 ). All physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual imperfections will be gone forever. All desire to sin will be gone, as will the disappointment, shame, and guilt that accompanied it.
Our spirit will be in perfect alignment with God’s Spirit, our will in perfect harmony with His. The restrictions imposed on our abilities by the curse under which we’ve labored all our lives will be lifted as we emerge from the dark oppressive past into a bright and limitless future.

No matter what kind of sinner we have been here on Earth, or how often we stumbled and fell, or how disapprovingly we’ve been looked upon by our peers, when we stand before our Creator every hint of our earthly self will have disappeared and we will finally be the perfect example of ourselves He created us to be, fit to dwell in the presence of the Lord forever in the most luxurious environment He has ever designed.

What Should We Do About This ?

As you can see, none of the above has come to us as a result of our behavior. As soon as we believed, it was accomplished in our lives as the free gift of God’s grace (Ephes. 2:8-9 ) and can never be reversed. We don’t know why God chose to make this act of His Grace such a polar opposite to His requirements of those who labored under the Law before us. And from reading prophecies that describe life on earth in the Millennium, we can see that once the Church is gone no other group of believers will ever enjoy such a lavish display of His love after us. The only explanation He gave was that through us He wanted to demonstrate the incomparable riches of His Grace in ages yet to come (Ephes 2:7 ).

But even though He placed no conditions on us other than to believe in the one He sent (John 6:28-29 ) I believe Paul was very clear in describing the appropriate response to such an overwhelming display of His kindness. We’ll cover this next time as we discuss “Responding To Grace.” See you then.


https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/spiritual-life/5-things-you-should-know-about-how-god-sees-you/

This entry is part 3 of 16 in the series Revelation

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

As the Roman Empire grew in prominence, Rome soon became the world’s center for the practices and traditions of the Babylonian pagan religion. Pergamum slowly faded from the scene, but the mixed marriage of Christianity and Paganism that originated there has produced four offspring, Roman Catholics (Thyatira), Main Line Protestants (Sardis), Evangelicals (Philadelphia) and the Apostate Church (Laodicea). All are alive on Earth today.

To the Church in Thyatira ( Rev. 2 :18-29)

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

Thyatira means continual sacrifice. (In the Catholic Church, the Lord is still on the cross, and Catholics believe that the communion wafer becomes His actual body and blood as it’s consumed.) It’s the first letter with a future in view, which led me to the conclusion that the earlier three churches are gone. It’s also the first whose members are divided into two categories, the saved and the unsaved.

(Title) These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

It couldn’t be clearer. While born of the Virgin, the One speaking to them with fire in His eyes is to be addressed as the Son of God, not the son of Mary.

(Commendation) I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

The Catholic Church is known for its efforts in bringing mercy and compassion, as well as the Gospel, to God’s children.

(Criticism) Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

The title “Queen of Heaven” by which many Catholics refer to Mary, was first used of Semeramis, wife of Nimrod the founder of Babylon, and mother of Tammuz. Semeramis declared herself a goddess, claimed that Tammuz was born of a supernatural conception involving the Sun god, and began the first counterfeit religion, a mother-child cult.
According to legend, while out hunting one day Tammuz was killed by a wild animal. Semeramis mourned for 40 days at the end of which Tammuz was raised from the dead. She formed a celibate priesthood to commemorate this and named a chief priest who she declared to be infallible. The 40 day mourning (now called Lent), the Yule log, evergreen tree, mistletoe and hot cross buns were all used in the rituals they instituted, and the mother-child cult was born.

Later the Romans adapted these to the death and re-birth of the Sun at the winter solstice, but in the 4th century the traditions surrounding Semeramis and Tammuz were attributed to Mary and Jesus and came almost unchanged into Catholicism, where they remain to this day.

Semeramis is symbolically called Jezebel in the letter, leading people away from the truth into idolatry. But the real Jezebel is also in view here. She was a daughter of the King of Phonecia, a pagan princess best known for her advice to her Israelite husband King Ahab on how to obtain a vineyard he wanted. She brought trumped up charges against the vineyard’s owner, hired witnesses to bear false testimony, and had him convicted and executed. Then she confiscated the vineyard in the name of the King (1 Kings 21:1-16 ). Centuries later the Catholic Church would obtain much of its wealth in the same way. Fortunes beyond measure were gained during these inquisitions.

Jezebel was also the patron of the 450 prophets of Baal who Elijah slew on Mt. Carmel. The Lord views idolatry as infidelity and Jezebel had encouraged the worship of Baal, leading the people into spiritual adultery. The many saints to whom some Catholics pray, and the sacramental works they must perform to attain and keep their salvation are not scriptural and deny the sufficiency of the cross. For these reasons the Catholic Church is often called the “plus religion.” Jesus plus Mary. Grace plus works. The Scripture plus tradition. This giving of credit for the works of God to others is an example of spiritual adultery that endures today.

(Admonition) So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Those who insist upon being judged by their works will be granted their wish. Sadly the emphasis on these religious works has clouded the true message of the gospel to the extent that some life-long Catholics never come to know the Lord on a personal basis. He will judge them according to the motives of their hearts. Are their good works performed out of gratitude for the free gift of salvation He offers, or they done in a futile effort to earn it on their own?

(Call) Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come.

Others will have seen through the layers of traditions and works and saints and rituals and found the face of the Lord looking back at them. Those who do and cling tenaciously to Him will have their reward.

(Promise) To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—’He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery— just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

They’ll join Him on His throne as co-regent of the universe, the Bride of Christ, His beloved church.

We’re not in the Church because of the pew we occupy, or the name over the door, or the good works we do. We’re in the church because we’ve believed by faith that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor 15:3-4 )

(Challenge) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

There’s a little bit of Thyatira in all of us. Even after we’re saved by Grace, we all have our lists of do’s and don’ts. We derive our self- image as a believer from our adherence to this list, often judging others by how well they keep our commandments. When we fail, we fall back on God’s grace, but we don’t really feel good about ourselves until we’re obeying our list again. We forget that grace plus works equals works. The two are like oil and water, they don’t mix. To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:5 )

The only negative experience we had in our entire visit to the sites of the seven churches in Turkey took place in Thyatira, called Akhisar today. After a friendly and helpful guard opened the site where the church once stood for us and gave us material that explained what we were looking at, we left to find some lunch thinking how pleasant our time there had been. Down the street, we spotted an open-air shop where a vendor was selling the barbecued chicken sandwiches that are so popular in Turkey, and that we had come to enjoy as well.

Waiting for our sandwiches, we were approached by a man who appeared to hold some position of authority. His manner was most unfriendly, and his questions conveyed an air of suspicion. We left there quickly wondering if he was a policeman, a government agent, or an official from a religion unfriendly to Christians. Driving away we also discovered our food was not edible. The chicken was bad, as if the innards hadn’t been removed before cooking, and the bread was stale. Re-reading the letter to Thyatira we were struck by the contrasts between good and evil, in the letter and in our visit.

To the Church in Sardis ( Rev. 3 :1 -6 )

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

Sardis means remnant. As He did in the Letter to Thyatira, the Lord will distinguish between the lost and the saved (the remnant) in Sardis. The church in Sardis represents the Protestant Reformation. When Luther and others led the way out of Catholicism, it was in search of truth. The Catholic leadership had distorted God’s word into something it was never intended to be, adding to the Scriptures and imposing heavy spiritual burdens on their followers.

The call of the reformation was “Sola fides (only through faith), sola gratia (Only by grace), solus Christus (only with Christ), and sola Scriptura (Only His Word).”

(Title) These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

The Lord reminds the Church in Sardis just Who is writing to them. He is the Giver of the Holy Spirit, and the Guardian of the angel who shepherds them.

(Criticism) I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Jesus told the woman at the well, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 ) In their quest for the truth, the Protestant reformers neglected the things of the Spirit and for several hundred years almost never heard the rustlings of the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) in their midst. When the Great Awakening of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s brought the Gifts of the Spirit into the open again main line protestants denied their legitimacy. This caused many to leave the main line denominations, giving birth first to the Pentecostal and then the Charismatic movements.

(Admonition) Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.

When the German School of Higher Criticism invaded protestant seminaries with its godless theories about the “real” authorship of the Bible and the Modern Rationalists they spawned explained away its miracles, there was no Spiritual discernment to resist them. And so, having earlier rejected the Spirit, they now lost the Truth as well.

(Call) Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.

As is the case in the Catholic church, there remains but a remnant of denominational protestants who are saved. The rest, having worked so hard to make God small enough to fit in their minds, now find Him too small to meet their needs. They will be among the most surprised to find themselves left behind as End Times events unfold. (Notice, the Lord doesn’t promise to come for them, as in the rapture, but to them.)

(Promise) He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

But to the believing remnant He will give the white robes of the righteousness that comes by faith, and will be pleased to introduce them to His Father as members of God’s Forever Family.

(Challenge) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

There are two extremes in Christianity today. The dead orthodoxy of main line Protestantism, who can’t hear the Spirit and whose watered down gospel is powerless to save, is on one end of the spectrum. The “zeal without knowledge” of Charismatics who all too often ignore the admonitions of His word and permit the most outrageous excesses of spiritualism, is on the other. We’re told to worship God in spirit and in truth, but too great a focus on either can cause the loss of both.

The most significant site in Sardis today is the huge abandoned synagogue and gymnasium (school). As I stood there I was reminded how the protestant church has abandoned its Jewish roots and ignores the Old Testament, even doubting its veracity. Having learned what the Lord did from their New Testament but not understanding why He did it because they’ve never read the Old, they’ve lost the last of the meaning that once validated their theology. It’s become form without substance.

These two children defined Christianity until the 1800’s when the Lord again did a remarkable thing and the Church was born again in the 3rd child of Pergamus. More next time.

https://gracethrufaith.com/the-book-of-revelation/revelation-2-and-3-seven-letters-to-seven-churches-part-2/#more-301

evening

Sammywalex:
Some thoughts are better bottled in, so they say. Likewise, they say 'nothing is impossible'. Just imagining if the Devil can ever ask the creator to forgive him. The thought of eventuality is endless now. What do u think?

Satan cannot do it cos he doesn't have that ability... Angels were created perfect and they are different from human beings. Any decision taken by them will last for eternity and they can't repent.

Besides, satan still thinks he will defeat God at the Second Coming when Christ will land on mount Olives with His heavenly army( the battle of Armageddon ). He will still fight Christ at the end of the 1000 years millennium.

Satan and his fallen angels are not humans, so repentance is not in their hearts. Human beings can repent or be redeemed but not angels, they are not like us. If they were like us, Satan would have repented long time ago because he lost so much when he was cast out of heaven with his fallen angels. Repentance is not for them cos he is still recruiting his army to fight Christ on Mount Olives at the Second Coming of Christ.

This entry is part 2 of 16 in the series Revelation

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

According to Revelation 1:11 , the book was written to seven congregations in Asia, modern Turkey. For 2,000 years scholars have wondered why such an important message would be sent to these churches since they weren’t even the most important of their day, let alone now
.
True, Ephesus was a leading city of the time, but the church there was small and so were the others. Why wasn’t the book written to the Church in Rome, for example? Surely the Lord knew that Rome would be the capital of Christianity for much of church history, the perfect addressee for such a timeless message. Or how about Jerusalem, where the Church was born?

Four Levels of Application

The answer lies in the realization that the letters of chapters 2 and 3 have a representative as well as a specific purpose. They can actually be read with four levels of application. The first level is historical. These seven churches really existed and each was experiencing the particular problem to which the Lord referred as He dictated the letters to John. Second, since all the churches were to read all the letters, the letters were also admonitory to all. Third, since both the challenge and promise with which each letter ends are personal rather than corporate, the letters were for individuals as well as congregations. And fourth, read in the order in which they appear they outline church history and so are prophetic. They chronicle the gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. (Daniel 9:24-27 )

The Lord began each letter with a different one of the 24 titles that are used to describe Him in the book, and the title He selects gives a clue to the letter’s theme. The name of each Church also contains a clue. Each letter can be divided into seven parts, the Lord’s title being the first one.

Then come a commendation, a criticism, an admonition, a call, a challenge, and a promise. Two of the seven letters, Sardis and Laodicea, contain no commendation, and in two, Smyrna and Philadelphia, no criticism is given. Pergamum has no admonition, but has two criticisms. In the last 4 letters the challenge and the promise are reversed.
I’ll dissect each letter into its component parts as we go. And since I visited the sites of each of the seven churches a few years ago, I’ll include a personal note or two as well. With that, let’s get started.
…

To the Church in Ephesus ( Rev 2 :1 -7 )

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

Ephesus means darling, or beloved, maiden of choice. Ephesus represents the 1st century church.

(Title)These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
In using this title the Lord identifies Himself as the One who came to visit John, the One with authority over the Church, and the One to whom the Church owes affection as well as allegiance.

(Commendation) I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

The Church in Ephesus had worked tirelessly to remain true to His Gospel.

(Criticism) Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
Already the church had become so busy in its service to the King that it had forgotten about the King! The relationship He sought was turning into another religion.

(Admonition) Remember the height from which you have fallen!

How many times have we heard friends comment about the “good old days” when they were new believers? How exciting and emotional it was, and how quickly our prayers were answered? The Lord wants us to stay that way.

(Call) Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Here’s the remedy. Go back to doing what you did at first. Remember when you couldn’t get enough of the Bible? When you showed up at church half an hour early, just because you loved being there, and didn’t want to leave when the service was over? How you kept up a running conversation with the Lord that began when you woke up in the morning and didn’t end till you fell asleep at night?

The Nicolaitans were a heretical sect that advocated a blending of pagan customs, like eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality, into Christian worship. There’s only One worthy to receive our worship, and worshiping Him is the Church’s primary purpose.

The lamp stand is identified in Rev 1:20 as the church, so removing it means removing the church of Ephesus. Though the ruins of Ephesus are extensive and impressive, requiring most of a day to see, when we were there a few years ago we found only the faintest traces of a 1st century church in Ephesus.

(Challenge) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Reach up along each side of your head. Do you have ears there? Then this letter was written to you. Though the letter to Ephesus describes the Apostolic era, the church struggles with the same problems today. The church as a whole is too distracted with programs and plans, your congregation is too busy implementing them, and you’re too busy helping. We’re human beings, not human doings, and once we’re saved being with the Lord in fellowship is our life’s purpose.

(Promise) To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

Because of the emphasis on good works and programs in the church today, many who call themselves Christians, and rightly consider themselves to be hard working members of their congregations, have never taken the time to meet the King they claim to serve and receive the pardon He purchased for them with His life. How shocked they’ll be to hear Him say, “I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers.” (Matt. 7:23 )

To the Church in Smyrna (Rev 2 :8 -11 )

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

Smyrna means crushed. It comes from the same root word as myrrh, an embalming spice that releases its aroma when crushed. Smyrna represents the 2nd and 3rd Century church that suffered intense persecution.

(Title) These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
The emphasis in the title is obvious, overcoming death.

(Commendation) I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
The first to persecute the church were Jews. Polycarp, the most famous of the early martyrs was the Bishop of Smyrna and was burned at the stake there at age 86.

(Admonition) Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.
From history we know the ten days refers to the reigns of 10 Roman Caesars, covering a period of 250 years.

(Call) Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
There’s no promise of deliverance, only of reward in Heaven. The stories of believers’ grace in the face of death while ingenious and diabolical methods were employed to exterminate them as a form of public entertainment have achieved legendary status.

(Challenge) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Many of us in the west have never faced serious threats on account of our faith, but world wide the number of known Christian martyrs has averaged from 100,000 to 150,000 per year for the last 10 years. Their number will only grow as the End draws nearer.

(Promise) He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

The old adage goes: Born once, die twice. Born twice die once. It’s the second death that you have to watch out for. It’s the permanent one.

Today a prosperous city called Izmir, third largest in Turkey, stands where ancient Smyrna once was. An incident that clearly displayed the Lord’s sense of humor, while emphasizing the point of the letter, happened as we drove through the city. We saw prominent signs on a freeway exit just outside Izmir pointing to Smyrna and thinking we had found the ancient site, I quickly pulled off. But at the bottom of the short exit ramp was a T intersection with no indication as to which way we should turn. And there were no more signs pointing the way to Smyrna. After an hour of driving back and forth searching in both directions, I gave up and drove on. I didn’t get the point till later after describing the event to our Turkish travel agent. He told me the sign points to where Symrna was. There’s no trace of Smyrna today. The church of Smyrna is in heaven.

To the Church In Pergamum ( Rev. 2 :12-17 )

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

Pergamum means mixed marriage and represents the merger of pagan and Christian practices in the 4th century when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

(Title) These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
In Hebrews 4:12 the double-edged sword is used to describe God’s Word, the source of Truth.

(Commendation) I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

With the establishment of Baghdad as the major distribution center between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea following Alexander’s death, Babylon had gone into decline so the original mother/child cult religion moved its headquarters from there to Pergamum. (It eventually settled in Rome.) The reference to Satan’s throne there shows the true source of this false religion.

(Criticism 1) Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

These were actual physical sins in the time of Balaam but here are mentioned in the spiritual sense. Idol worship can be anything you venerate, whether a false god or part of creation or material possessions. When intended symbolically, as it is here, sexual immorality stands for the worship of another god.

(Criticism 2) Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
These pagan practices crept into the church at Pergamum, just as they had in Ephesus.

(Call) Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
The truth of the Gospel has always been the best defense against the cults.

(Challenge) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
There are still plenty of idols in the church. Maybe you parked yours in the parking lot, or shaved its face this morning, or keep it in a bank downtown.

(Promise) To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Just as the black ball was a vote against someone, a white stone was a sign of trust. When an important businessman had to complete a transaction in a distant city, he didn’t travel there. It was too dangerous. Instead he sent a trusted servant empowered to act on his behalf. The servant carried a coin like form of identification made of baked white clay. The seal of the businessman being represented was pressed into the clay as was a secret name, known only to the other party in the transaction. By the presentation of the white stone, the servant authenticated himself as being entitled to all the rights and privileges of his master. In this way, our Lord Jesus will identify us as being entitled to all the rights and privileges due Him, when we enter into the Presence of our Father in Heaven.

Our Lord instructed the Disciples to take the Church into all the world (Matt 28:19-20 ), but in Pergamum the world came into the church. In the 4th century the Edict of Milan made Christianity legal and ultimately the official religion of the Empire. When that happened, pagan festivals became Christian holidays. The Feasts of Saturnalia and Ishtar became Christmas and Easter. This explains why such pagan symbols as the Yule log and evergreen tree, which symbolized the sun dying and being born again at the winter solstice, are associated with Christmas, while fertility symbols like rabbits and eggs are connected with Easter. Ishtar was the Babylonian goddess of fertility.

The impressive ruins on a hill 1000 feet above the surrounding valleys near modern Bergama are markedly pagan with remains of great temples to Roman gods and emperors but only faint traces of the church that was there
.
Children Of A Mixed Marriage

It’s my belief that the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum have all disappeared, symbolically and in reality. But the marriage of Christian beliefs with the pagan religion of Pergamum produced 4 offspring that all survive to this day and are represented by the four remaining letters. We’ll cover them next time.


https://gracethrufaith.com/the-book-of-revelation/revelation-2-and-3-seven-letters-to-seven-churches-part-1/#more-300

If you are in the U.S get ready, StormRex is hitting the stage in Sacramento, California for a music concert tagged TOP STARS CONCERT. She will be performing live with other artistes from America and Nigeria.

afternoon

afternoon

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Rom 10:9 ).

We’ve all confessed (give assent to or acknowledge) with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and understand its importance to our salvation, but what about the “believe in your heart” portion of the verse?

In Romans 10:10 Paul goes on to say that it’s with our heart that we believe and are justified. The Greek word translated justify is from dikaios which means to be innocent or holy. The King James translates this word “believe unto righteousness” meaning that our belief in the resurrection is what brings us our righteousness, allowing God to regard us as though we’re innocent of any sin and therefore holy.
The notion of a bodily resurrection is as old as the Bible itself. It’s contained in what is arguably the earliest written book of the Bible.

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27 )
King David knew he would see his newly deceased infant son again (2 Sam 12:22-23 ) and both Isaiah 26:20-21 and Daniel 12:2 promise a bodily resurrection at the end of the age.

The Church in Corinth had difficulty understanding this so in 1 Cor. 15 Paul devoted a whole chapter to their questions about resurrection going as far as to state, “If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:7 ). Yet today many who call themselves Christian still don’t believe it. Liberal theology does not require belief in a bodily resurrection, and even among Evangelicals it’s sometimes spiritualized away. We know that if we believe the Bible we are required to believe in a bodily resurrection, but do we know why it’s required?

There’ s More Here Than Meets the Eye

John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of world (John 1:29 ), not just the sins of the Jews or even of those Jews and Gentiles present at the time, but the sins of the world. Every violation of God’s law that ever had been or ever would be committed was to be dealt with. Of course this didn’t mean that the world would no longer be a sinful place, or that everyone would be saved, but that the penalty for the sins of the world would be borne by the Lamb of God for the benefit of all who chose to accept it. Here’s how it happened.

In Roman crucifixions a sign was posted above the head of the one being executed listing the broken laws for which his life was being taken. It was meant as a deterrent for those watching the public executions. In Jesus’ case the sign said “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” indicating his crime against Rome was treason. In Col 2:13-14 we’re told that in the spiritual realm another sign was also posted. It listed all the sins that mankind ever had or ever would commit. It explained why His life was really being taken.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross (Col 2:13-14 ).

Notice it says He forgave us all our sins. Not just the ones we committed before we were saved, and not just the ones we commit by accident. He forgave all of our sins, even those we commit willfully and repeatedly.

Hebrews 10:12-14 says that Jesus offered for all time one sacrifice for sin and then sat down at the right hand of God, because by that one sacrifice He has made us perfect forever. His death took place on one specific day in time, but its effect applies across the span of time to all the days of every man. We only have to ask for God’s forgiveness to receive it.

But Jesus actually did much more than bear the punishment due us. 2 Cor 5:21 says that God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, while on the cross He became the physical embodiment of sin. God can not dwell in the presence of sin, nor even look upon it (Haba 1:13 ) and so He had to turn away, separating Himself from His Son. For 3 hours light was taken from the world and for the first time in eternity the 2 were not 1.

If the ultimate punishment for sin is complete separation from God, Jesus suffered it then. It was the only time in the entire ordeal that He complained, crying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:45-46 ) When He had died, His punishment over, He no longer personified sin and the light was restored.

What ’ s The Point ?

After His resurrection, Jesus looked like other men to His disciples and the 500 eyewitnesses who saw Him (1 Cor. 15:6 ). He walked with His disciples, talked with them, ate with them and permitted them to touch Him to assure themselves He was not just a spirit, but a man with flesh and bone (Luke 24:36-43 ). His was a bodily resurrection. Later He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Now here’s the point. Remember, God cannot be in the presence of sin or even look upon it (Haba 1:13 ). Jesus had taken upon himself every sin of mankind, past, present, and future. If even one was left unpaid by His death, Jesus couldn’t be in God’s presence and would still be in the grave (Rom 6:23 ). His resurrection is proof of yours. If you cannot believe that God raised Jesus from the dead then you cannot believe that all your sins are forgiven and that He will raise you up.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For in Adam all die so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor. 15:20-22 ).

On that Sunday morning in April of 32AD, as the sun was rising, the priests in the Temple were preparing for the festival that always begins on the morning after the first Sabbath after Passover. It was First Fruits, signifying the beginning of the spring harvest for the Nation of Israel.
And Mary was going to the tomb with some other women to complete the burial process that had been interrupted by the holy days following the crucifixion. But the tomb was empty. The Son had risen, the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

That empty tomb was the clearest sign we have ever received that the Lord had accomplished His mission. The Lamb of God had indeed taken away the sin of the world, all of it.

The essential gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and that He was raised on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4 ). Believing this is the only qualification for salvation. We are sinners in need of a savior. Jesus died for our sins, and to prove that His death was sufficient for us, God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead is our assurance that He will raise us, too. Selah 02-25-12

https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/spiritual-life/believe-in-your-heart/

This entry is part 1 of 16 in the series Revelation

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Prologue

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw – that is the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it, and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Rev 1:1-3 )

It was 95 AD, over 60 years since Jesus had walked among His people. Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed, leaving the Jews defeated. Paul was dead, beheaded in Rome nearly 30 years earlier. Peter had been crucified there about the same time. Of all the disciples only John was still alive. He had written his gospel and his 3 letters sometime earlier, and had served for a time as the Bishop of the church in Ephesus, having moved there with Mary, the Lord’s mother, about the time of the Temple’s destruction in 70 AD.

It’s not that the Romans and Jews had left John alone. Tradition has it that several times they’d tried to kill him, even throwing him live into a cauldron of boiling oil, but the Lord had prevented it, fulfilling His promise of John 21:22 . (Responding to Peter’s question about what would become of John, Jesus had said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? “) Finally the Romans had exiled him to Patmos, a prison colony off the coast of modern Turkey, thinking they had heard the last of him.

But the Lord had other plans, and appeared personally to John, commanding him to write one final letter and send it to seven churches in Asia Minor. As an old man at the end of his life, John was about to undertake one of his greatest challenges. After writing the Revelation, he died of natural causes in about 100 AD.

By the way, your Preterist friends have had to give the book an early date to get around verse one because they contend that it was all fulfilled by 70 AD, but they needn’t have bothered. In the first place the later date is pretty well established, but the word translated soon or shortly actually means quickly or rapidly and describes the speed with which events will unfold once they begin, not their chronological nearness to John’s day.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

John, to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom (or kings), and priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev.1: 4-8 )

Of the 404 verses in the Book of Revelation, 278 are taken from the Old Testament. In fact, Esther is the only Old Testament book not directly quoted. So it’s not surprising to find these Old Testament constructions like him who is and who was and who is to come and the seven spirits who are before his throne. The first is an approximate translation of God’s name and the second is a name for the Holy Spirit, literally the seven-fold Spirit of God. We’ll see plenty of these through out the book, and in chapter 19 we’ll see the untranslated Hebrew word Hallelujah (it means praise the Lord) used four times. It’s the only place it appears in the New Testament. In fact the Revelation has so many Old Testament nuances that some believe that John was actually translating from Hebrew into Greek as he wrote.

The phrase Alpha and Omega comes from the first and last letters of he Greek alphabet and refers to God the Father and recalls His claim to Israel. “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. (Isaiah 43:10-11 ) Jesus will later use the phrase of Himself.

Vision of the Son of Man

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea” (Rev. 1:9-11 ).

By this command it’s clear that John is actually going to witness some events that the Lord wants him to document and then distribute to the seven churches he has named. Some contend that John saw all this in a vision on one Sabbath Day, while others say he was actually transported through time to the Day of the Lord. I lean toward the latter.
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance (Rev. 1:12-16 ).

Though the man speaking to John was clothed in light and had a distinct otherworldly appearance, John recognized Him. He had seen Him looking like this once before, on the Mount Of Transfiguration. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matt. 17:2 ) It was the Lord!
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (Rev. 1:17-20 ).

In this way, the Lord divides the Book John will write into three sections. The things John has seen, contained in chapter 1, those that are, which will fill chapters 2 and 3, and those that will take place after this, chapters 4-22.
The fact that the Lord is seen standing in the midst of the seven lampstands indicates His direct involvement with the church. Holding the seven stars in His right hand speaks of the intimate relationship He has with its leaders. Whether you see them as the pastors or as angelic overseers, He’s got them in the palm of His hand. The number 7 figures prominently in the Book of Revelation. In fact, before we’re finished we’ll see it used 52 times. And isn’t it interesting that 5 plus 2 equals guess what? Seven!

The Lord’s use of first and last here recall the two most important steps in the process of product development. The Greek word translated first is protos, from which we get prototype. A prototype is the original. It sets the standard to which all subsequent copies are compared to make sure they conform. Paul wrote, “ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers ” (Romans 8:29 ). When we’re perfected we’ll be exact copies of our prototype, the Lord, and that’s the way God already sees us (2 Cor. 5:17 ).

And the word for last is eschatos, the superlative, the perfect example, the highest and best that can be achieved. Though we’re destined to look like Him and act like Him, we can never be Him.

And so ends chapter one, but we’re just getting started. There’s plenty more to come. See you next time.


https://gracethrufaith.com/the-book-of-revelation/revelation-1/#more-299

morning

morning

morning

morning

ejikemeuwa:
a gud write up, the bible is really beyond comprehension to the simple minded

yes bro

Commentary by Jack Kelley

With the current interest in China and the Far East, let’s review what the Bible says about that part of the world in the last days and see if we can tell what it all means.

First, some background. I’ve found that there’s a great deal of mystery about the origin of the people who populate the Far East. Even they don’t know where they came from. The River Euphrates was a formidable natural barrier that inhibited travel and prevented the flow of information and ideas from moving back and forth. The Scythians, a Central Asian people who raided the Middle East, can be traced to Magog and are the fore bearers of today’s Russians, but they came down from the North. The Great Wall of China was once called the Ramparts of Magog and was built to keep the Scythians out of China. This further isolated the Far East and not only clouded their origins in mystery, but resulted in the development of cultures very different from all others.

The oldest Chinese pictograms (their equivalent to letters of the alphabet) contain characters that depict the Creation story and their belief in one God, so we can assume that at the dawn of history they knew of man’s origin, but their culture developed independently of any influence from those west of the barriers we’ve mentioned. Today there’s very little similarity between East and West, and even less goodwill.

As believers, we know that every race of mankind sprang from the loins of Ham, Shem, or Japeth, the three sons of Noah. But from which one did the Asian peoples come? Genesis 10:17 makes mention of a group called the Sinites, descended from Ham through Canaan. And Isaiah 49:12 speaks of the Sinim (same Hebrew root), a people who according to the Strong’s concordance inhabited the extremity of the known world. (Strong’s commentary on the Sinim suggests that it probably refers to the Chinese.) And that’s about all the Bible tells us until we see a reference to the Kings of the East in the Book of Revelation.

Back To The Future

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. (Rev. 9:13-16 )

At the time of the 6th Trumpet, four angels who’ve been stationed at the River Euphrates for this very purpose will be loosed to agitate the leaders of the Far East against each other causing a huge war with massive casualties to mankind. Two hundred million soldiers from the various armies will clash resulting in the deaths of 1/3rd of mankind. 25% of the Earth will already be under judgment causing much bloodshed and death (Rev. 6:8 ), and now nearly 2 billion people will perish in this war.

But since the traditional barrier between East and West, the River Euphrates, is not dried up to make way for them to swarm into the Middle East (we’ll see that in Rev. 16 ) I believe that this judgment is primarily against the 60% of the world’s population that lives East of the Euphrates. There’s no mention of them tangling with anyone out side the region, so this could be a war for supremacy among the Far Eastern nations, as well as a forging of alliances in preparation for the coming attempt to grab the Middle East and all it’s resources.
With the conflicting religions, the crowded conditions, and the abject poverty, that area of the world is always ripe for conflict, so it won’t take much to stir them up against each other. And since China, India, Pakistan, Russia, and North Korea are already nuclear powers it’s easy to project huge casualties.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (Rev 16:12 )
By the time of the 6th Bowl judgment, the anti-Christ’s plans to control the world will be falling apart and the Kings of the East will be thinking that it’s every man for himself. Like I said, there’s no good will between East and West. I think this is when they will move to seize control of the Middle East.

Remember, Daniel 11:40-45 tells us that after the King of the North (Syria, Iraq, Iran) and the King of the South (Saudi Arabia, Egypt) mount unsuccessful attacks against the anti-Christ, there will be reports of troop movement from the East (China, etc.) and North (Russia) This is the run-up to Armageddon and the anti-Christ will locate his headquarters in Israel to direct his response to this new threat.

Of course we know that while all the world’s attention is focused on these opposing forces, another army will be rushing forth to join the fray. But this one is unlike the others. In the first place it will come out of the sky. In the second place everyone will be dressed in white linen, and in the third place only its leader will fight. His weapon is His Word and with it He will slay all these earthly armies in their tracks (Rev. 19:11-21 ).

Will The Circle Be Unbroken?

The focal point of Life on Earth originated in the Middle East and was centered there for thousands of years. Then came Gentile Dominion and the focus began moving westward. From Babylon and Persia, world dominance moved to Greece, then Rome, then Spain, England, and now across the Atlantic to America. Some observers say its next move will be to the Far East and finally back to the Middle East for the conclusion of history, having come full circle.

There are several indicators that support this observation. China boasts the world’s fastest growing economy, and on the whole Asian economies are growing at a rate exceeding the world’s average. Since growth attracts capital, money has been moving into Asia in record amounts. Chain has also been buying gold in record amounts in what some observers see as a coming attempt to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The Secretary General of the UN is from Korea. India is a world center for “Knowledge Process Outsourcing”. There are more Christians being born again in the Far East than in any other part of the world. Three of the four most populous nations in the world are in the far East (China, India, and Indonesia), as are almost half of the top 25. As I said, estimates place 60% of the world’s population in Asia. This could very well be the beginning of their time.

https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/the-kings-of-the-east/

evening

evening

Genesis 12:7
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

I don’t know about you, but I am not satisfied with just knowing that I am righteous by faith. I also want to get to know the One who made me righteous. I want to have an intimate relationship with my Savior!

Abraham was such a man. He was righteous by faith, but he also had a close walk with God and was blessed by God in all things. (Genesis 24:1) His nephew Lot, on the other hand, although righteous too (2 Peter 2:7–, had no heart for God. He ended up losing a lot when Sodom, the city he dwelt in, was destroyed along with Gomorrah. He was saved by the skin of his teeth!

My friend, do you want to be a Christian like Lot, righteous but always finding yourself in trouble, or do you want to be a righteous-and-blessed Christian like Abraham? Then, like Abraham, have a heart for God.
From place to place, Abraham would build an altar to the Lord. And in between altars, he grew very rich! (Genesis 13:2) There is no biblical record, however, of Lot ever building an altar to the Lord.

What is an “altar” in today’s context? It is a place where you know that you have a close relationship with God. For example, when my late father was in the hospital, I was worried and did not know what to do. I remember driving down the road and crying. After a while, I just threw my cares to the Lord. When I reached the hospital, I just laid my hands on my father and said, “Be healed in Jesus’ name.” And he was healed!

Till today, I can remember the place where I had cast my cares to the Lord and leaned on His love for me. That is my “altar”. And it is not the only one.

We have got to have this kind of relationship with God, one full of “altars” that remind us of His love, goodness and faithfulness. Let’s not live the Christian life like Lot, saved by the skin of our teeth. Let’s walk closely with God as Abraham did, and be richly blessed in every area of our lives!

Thought For The Day

Choose to have an intimate relationship with the One who made you righteous.

http://www.josephprince.org/daily-grace/grace-inspirations/single/not-satisfied-with-just-being-saved/

The Word of God is living and active. If you confess the Word of God over your heart and life, it will not return void. We encourage you to meditate on these confessions of faith!

Dear friend,

If you have been waiting on the Lord for provision, know that God’s heart is for you to be abundantly supplied. The greatest proof of this is that God has already given you His very best, Jesus Christ. And when you have the Lord, you have everything that you need (1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Peter 1:3).

What is it that you need today? Healing for yourself or a loved one? Favor at work or with your spouse? Wisdom to make important decisions about your career, children or who to marry? God assures you that He knows that “you need all these things” (Matthew 6:31–31) and that He has already provided for them.

How? Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross! At the cross, Jesus though He was rich became poor so that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He carried all your sicknesses and pains on His own body (see Isaiah 53:5) so that yours may be whole, healthy and strong. He wore the crown of thorn (John 19:2) so that your mind may be free from torment. He died alone (Psalm 88:18) so that you may always be surrounded by loved ones and friends.

Jesus has done it all and provided it all for you. There is nothing you need to do to qualify for or deserve God’s blessings and provision. Jesus declared in John 10:10 that He came to that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly. So beloved, go boldly to your heavenly Father today and ask His “mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

As you wait on the Lord for your breakthrough, continue to focus on your heavenly Father’s goodness and His willingness and ability to provide what you need. What follows is a collection of God’s promises for provision, some already well-known and well-loved, that will help keep you enveloped in a cloud of your Father’s love and grace.

In addition to these scripture verses, I encourage you to pray the prayer that has been included at the end over yourself and your situation. Trust in your heavenly Father’s heart of love toward you, and the perfection of your Savior in saving and providing for you, and see all the wonderful promises in His Word come to pass for you!

God Wants To Provide For You

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
— Luke 12:32

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
— Matthew 6:31–32

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
— 1 Peter 5:7, NLT

…what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
— Matthew 7:9–11

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
— Mark 11:24

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:6–7

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
— Romans 5:17

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
— Romans 8:28, NLT

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
— 3 John 1–2, KJV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
— James 1:5

Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful…
— Deuteronomy 8:18, NLT

The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
— Deuteronomy 28:8

Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
— Genesis 22:13

…let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
— Psalm 35:27

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
— Psalm 37:4

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!
— Psalm 68:19

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
— Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

When You Have Jesus, You Have Everything
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
— John 6:35, NLT

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
— 2 Peter 1:3

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
— 1 Corinthians 1:30

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
— Colossians 1:27

…Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
— Colossians 2:2–3

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
— 2 Corinthians 1:20

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
— 2 Corinthians 8:9

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
— Colossians 2:10

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
— Romans 8:16–17

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:19, NLT

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
— 1 Timothy 6:17, NLT

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.
— Jeremiah 17:7–8

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
— Matthew 11:28–30,

The Message
God’s Supply Is More Than Enough

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
— Ephesians 3:20

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
— John 1:16, NASB

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
— John 6:11–13

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
— John 10:10

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
— Romans 8:32

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
— Ephesians 1:3

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
— Psalm 50:10

You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath…
— Deuteronomy 28:12–13

…So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. “And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
— 2 Kings 4:2–7

Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.” Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”
— 2 Kings 13:17–19, NLT

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.
— Lamentations 3:22–23, NLT

Prayer For God’s Provision

“Lord Jesus, I thank You that You love me unconditionally and that You are both willing and more than able to provide for me. At the cross, You were made poor so that by Your poverty, I can be abundantly supplied today! You are my Provider, Your favor surrounds me as with a shield and You open wide doors of good opportunity for me. I do not have to struggle or despair. As I wait on You for Your supply in my life, I choose to focus on and give praise for Your great love for me. Amen!”

To find out more about what the Lord has done for you, and the extent to which He has provided for you, spirit, soul and body, we would like to recommend the following resource by Joseph Prince from our ministry’s online store :
1. Provision Promises (Hardback book)

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

http://www.josephprince.org/daily-grace/gods-promises/