GOD'S CHOICE
GOD'S CHOICE
Luke 2:37, "And she [was] a widow of about fourscore and four
years, which departed not from the temple, but served [God] with fastings and
prayers night and day."
LUKE 2:36-40
Let's suppose that Anna was fourteen years old when she married. She would have been 105 years old. Yet she was still fasting and praying night and day! Satan tries to convince us that God won't use us. He may cite things like age or lack of abilities, or failures that we've had. But just like Anna, there are many scriptural examples of the Lord using those who would be considered unusable by worldly standards.
Moses was eighty years old before he began to fulfill God's plan for his life and he worked right up until he was 120 years old. Abraham was in his nineties before he had the son that God had promised him.
Gideon was another one who looked unusable. He was hiding from the Midianites when an angel of God appeared and told him he was a mighty man of valor (Judg. 6:11-12). He couldn't believe it at first and had to have the Lord confirm it three times.
Truly, ...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty... (1 Cor. 1:27-28).
If you feel foolish or weak, then you qualify. Let the Lord use you today.
Condemnation Is The Root Cause
Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
“When you see a plant with sickly leaves, it would be
foolishness for you to just treat the leaves without knowing the root cause of
the problem.
Similarly, when “leaves” of sickness, poverty and despair
start sprouting in your life, you need to know what the root cause is. Experts will tell you that it is stress. They may go a little
deeper and say that it is fear — fear of the future, of rejection, of loss, of
death and so on. But is fear really the root? Or is there something deeper than
fear?
He Doesn’t Remember How Bad You Were
12For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless
deeds I will remember no more.”
“Oh, if only you had seen my husband in the early years of
our marriage. He had such an explosive temper that I used to seek shelter at my
mother’s house!”
“No one would have ever guessed that she had such a
promiscuous past.”
“As a young boy, he would always lie through his teeth and
not even bat an eyelid!”
Man looks at you and remembers what you were like in the
past. But when God looks at you, He doesn’t remember that you were once a
little rascal, drunk or drug addict. He looks at you and doesn’t remember that
act of adultery nor the mess you were in. In the new covenant, God declares, “For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless
deeds I will remember no more.”
It is as if God is saying, “When you come to Me, please don’t
think that I am thinking about your sins. Don’t think that every time I look at
you, I am reminded of your sins. Not only am I not keeping a record, but I am
also not mindful of your failures and shortcomings. I am telling you that I
will remember your sins no more — never again!”
Don’t Just Know But Believe!
1 John 4:16
16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
You may have heard and know that God cares
for you and loves you, and that He demonstrated His love for you by dying on
the cross for you. But it’s one thing to know this; it’s another thing to believe
the love that God has for you.
For example, it’s one thing to know that the
sun shines on us during the day. But it’s another thing to believe that the sun
is still shining even though you don’t feel its warmth and all you see are
cloudy skies.
Done As You Have Believed
13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have
believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same
hour.
What are you expecting God to do for you today? Do
you believe that God will respond according to your expectation?
When Jairus, distraught at the sickness that was
claiming his daughter’s life, fell at Jesus’ feet, he entreated Jesus to
personally come to his house to lay His hands on his daughter so that she would
be healed. (Mark 5:23)
Compassion With Action
Hebrews 4:15
15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
There is
no trial, difficulty or challenge we face today that our Lord Jesus cannot
identify with. The moment we experience a trial, right there and then, because
He “was
in all points tempted as we are”, He feels it too and is able to
sympathise with our weaknesses.
It Is Done: HE IS RISEN
John 19:30
30So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
30So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
What
do you see when it comes to healing for your sick body, restoration for your
failing marriage or breakthroughs for your financial woes? Do you see a
finished work or a work that is yet to be completed?
God
wants you to know that what you desperately need Him to do for you has already
been done! Jesus’ finished work at the cross so satisfied the Father’s heart that
from heaven’s throne came the pronouncement, “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17) in
response to Jesus’ cry on earth, “It is finished!” So God wants you to
have this revelation that whatever you need Him to do for you has been done
because Jesus has accomplished it all for you.
He lived to die, that you might live and enjoy life abundantly today.
Born To Die
Luke 2:12
12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.
12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.
You are probably familiar with the story of
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Bible says that when the time had come, Mary “brought forth
her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a
manger”. (Luke 2:6–7) But have you ever wondered why the angel told
the shepherds that the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger
was a “sign”?
Behold The Glory of Jesus In You
Behold The Glory of Jesus In You
2 Corinthians 3:18
18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When you look in a mirror, what do you see? Of course, you
see yourself.
Beloved, God does not want you to see yourself in the natural
— small, troubled, weak, sick, broke and a loser. God wants you to see yourself
the way He sees you — healed, strong, rich, whole and complete, because Christ
is in you. (Colossians 1:27)
You Are God’s Beloved
Ephesians 1:6
… 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
… 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
At the Jordan river, Jesus heard His Father
say to Him, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” (Luke
3:22) Later, in the wilderness, Jesus heard the devil say to Him, “If You are
the Son of God…” (Luke 4:3)
Believe First And You Will See
Believe First And You Will See
Matthew
8:13
13… as you have believed, so let it be done for you…
13… as you have believed, so let it be done for you…
Some
people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? But if I can see or feel
something, I may just believe that something is happening!”
The
woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way.
For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying to find
every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up
losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”.
Be Anxious For Nothing
Philippians 4:6–7
6Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
When faced with a challenge or crisis, our tendency is to get all
anxious about it. But God does not want us to react this way. He does not want
us to be anxious about anything. Instead, whatever the problem is, He wants us to
go to Him in prayer and supplication, telling Him what we need and thanking Him
for the answer. When we do that, His peace, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard our hearts and minds from all worries, anxieties and fears.
Always See Christ’s Obedience At The Cross
Always See Christ’s Obedience At The
Cross
2 Corinthians 10:5
5Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
5Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Have you ever felt condemned because of the
bad thoughts you’ve had? You could be in the middle of worshipping God when
suddenly a sinful thought enters your mind. Actually, the devil is the one who
puts these thoughts in your mind. Then he steps back, looks at you and knocks
you on your head, saying, “How can you call yourself a Christian when you think
such thoughts?”
YOUR WORDS CARRY POWER
Ecclesiastes 8:4
4Where the word of a king is, there is
power.
In
biblical times, a king’s word carried tremendous power. What he decreed would
come to pass. If he said, “Raise taxes,” the taxes were raised.
Do
you know that we are kings? The Bible tells us that Jesus has washed us from
our sins with His blood and made us kings. (Revelation 1:5–6) And as kings in
Christ, our words carry power too.
When
we place our hands on a sick person and say, “Be healed,” the person is healed!
When we lay hands on our children and say, “Be blessed,” our children are
blessed! For there is power in our words — the words of kings!
A WAY OF ESCAPE
Psalm
23:5
5You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
The
table is set. The bread and wine are there, and Jesus says to you, “Come, my
child, partake.” But you tell Him, “Lord, I am unworthy!” You are also afraid
to come because you have been taught that if you partake in your “unworthy”
state, you will come under God’s fiery judgment!
ASKING IN JESUS NAME
John 16:23
23… Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the
Father in My name, He will give you.
Do you always end your prayers with “in Jesus’ name. Amen!”?
Maybe your Sunday school teacher taught you to do this, or maybe you have heard
church leaders and other believers utter it at the end of their prayers.
I used to say, “In Jesus’ name. Amen!” very quickly as if
those were magic words that would get my prayers answered. Then, one day, I
heard the Lord asking me why I was doing that.
‘God, What’s The Hurry?’
Luke 15:22
22“But the father said to his servants,
‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and
sandals on his feet.’”
If
you are a believer, you are probably familiar with the story of the prodigal
son that Jesus shared. Who do you think represents the father in the story?
Jesus’ Father in heaven, of course. Jesus was giving us a picture of His
Father, who is also our Father.
ALWAYS SEE CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE AT THE CROSS
Always See Christ’s Obedience At The Cross
2 Corinthians 10:5
5Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
5Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Have
you ever felt condemned because of the bad thoughts you’ve had? You could be in
the middle of worshipping God when suddenly a sinful thought enters your mind.
Actually, the devil is the one who puts these thoughts in your mind. Then he
steps back, looks at you and knocks you on your head, saying, “How can you call
yourself a Christian when you think such thoughts?”
A Priesthood That Blesses And Never Curses
Hebrews 5:9–10
9And having been perfected, He became
the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10called by God as High Priest
“according to the order of Melchizedek”.
When Jesus died and rose again, He became our
High Priest. But notice that Jesus’ priesthood is “according to the order
of Melchizedek”. Why the Melchizedek priesthood?
The Melchizedek priesthood gives
to man, whereas the Aaronic priesthood takes from man. We see
this when Melchizedek gave bread and wine to refresh a tired
Abraham after his battle with the enemy kings. (Genesis 14:14–20) So if Jesus’
priesthood is according to the Melchizedek order, then it is one in which we
come into His presence to receive from Him!
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