Zeal of your house - Divine Zeal for Jesus !

Monday, October 12, 2009

Psa 69:9  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

 

As a Christian (a true born-again believer), it is common to experience a burning zeal for the lord of your salvation. May the zeal never ever diminish and dwindle. The psalmist prophesies the zeal that consumes Lord Jesus. It is the choices that we make that proclaim the divine election that we have received. What topic in your life can cause zeal within you ? What topic are you passionate about, seeing that same topic evokes the most emotion or passionate response within you ?

 

·         Is it your pleasures ? Do you tend to become zealous if your pleasure is disturbed ? Are you aware that pleasures are of this world , of the flesh ? A true believer rejoices in only one pleasure – of close communion with God; And delights in one pastime – spending hours knowing his precepts.

·         Is it your family ? Do insults to your family drive you to anger ? Are you driven by a passion for family heritage ?

·         Is it your religion ? Discern the truth in any religion. There is only one truth – it’s the revealed word of God. Anything which goes against or beyond the Bible is untruth or part truth or a lie. Lie is of the satan – he is the liar and the father of liars.

·         Is it your job ? Do you react passionately if someone comments on your position ? Is the job yours through your credit ? Is your skill endless that your job is independent of the grace of God ?

·         Is it yourself ? Do you consider yourself to be the most important factor that you are on fire ? In order to achieve a state that God desires of you – you need to empty yourself – only at that point would God have space in your heart. He desires your empty heart – to start his perfect work on you. And once you allow him, he doesn’t stop till you become like Christ one day!

·         Is it your good works of a self righteous spirit ? Your good works are as filthy rags for the Lord.

·         Is it Christ ? Are you on fire for Him who saved you from certain death, who died a tormented death on the cross, who was pure but became impure by taking our sins on the cross ? Do you realize the love of God YHWH who, knowing the adamic nature to sin, sought to send his beloved son as a sacrifice to end all sacrifices ?

 

My friend, let’s choose our priorities right. Make a decision to live for him. Make Jesus the first portion in your life today. Know him intimately. Get to know more of the mysteries by poring over his word. May the holy spirit guide you and lead you in your constant journey towards Christ, and one day (and that day is coming soon!), we will be risen with him in Glory when he comes !!

 

Proclaim to the world – I am on fire for Christ Jesus! I delight to do my father’s bidding. I feel for the world that it has not realized the beauty and comfort of losing yourself for Christ’s sake. Win souls for him. Once you know the joy that comes from being in Christ, you would be filled with a love for the lost souls – that you would want everyone ( your friend, your family, your co-workers, your enemies, your priest, your church mates) to know Him closely and experience the love of God intimately – and to lead Salvation, repentance, renewal, baptism and a victorious Christian life!

 

Friend, heaven is big enough to house all of us – if only we will repent and accept Jesus as our lord and savior – and we lead a life which exhibits the fruits of the spirit.

 

May the holy spirit lead us all into a life closer to Jesus – A life where we burn with zeal for our lord – a life where we , through our testimony and example, lead millions to the Saviour, a life where our sole mission on this earthly abode is to win souls for him – a constant prayer life – filled with the spirit to help us overcome this world and to rebuke satan from interfering with any aspect of our life!

 

If you are a believer, I praise the lord that he has touched us. I greet you as a brother. May this message strengthen you and provoke you to press on in your walk of faith and in your spiritual race.

If you are one who attends a church, thinks he is a Christian, my friend, you should pray to the holy spirit to help humble yourself and seek truth. The truth is not far away but your eyes have been blinded by false religion. Enjoy the yoke of Jesus which is easy – forget the heaviness of following an organized religion.

If you are not a Christian, I pray that you may know the delight that comes from knowing Christ and intimately knowing his nature. I challenge you my friend to know him and not to love him.

 

I bless you in the mighty name of Lord Jesus Christ !

 

Thomas

God's provision for believers - He cares

"Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Behold, He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; Can He give bread also? They did eat, and were well filled."-- Psa_78:19, Psa_78:20, Psa_78:29.

 

THIS IS always the cry of unbelief, Can God? whilst the triumphant assertion of faith is: God can. What a difference is wrought by the collocation of words! Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? God can spread a table, even in the wilderness, and in the presence of our enemies our cup can overflow. Can He give bread also? He can satisfy the desire of every living thing, by the opening of His hand. Canst Thou do anything for us, our child is grievously possessed of the devil? If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

The wanderings of the Israelites for forty years were due to the fact that they looked at their difficulties and questioned if God could overcome them. Amongst the people, only Caleb and Joshua looked away from the Canaanites and their fortified cities to Him who had brought them where they were, and was pledged to extricate them. Some people speak of Giants with a capital G, and forget to magnify the power of God. what wonder that they account themselves as grass-hoppers, and lose heart! Let us not forget that we are sons and daughters of God, "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." (Compare Num_13:33 and Rom_8:17.)

Look back on the past; see what God has done for you; remember He is pledged to finish what He has begun. If He gave water, He can certainly give bread.

"They did eat, and were well filled." When we are poor and needy, we are inclined to humble prayer. But if suddenly our lot is changed, and there is abundance instead of poverty, how often there is a change in our demeanour. We are apt to become self-indulgent, and forgetful of the needs of the world. Instead of remembering that we are still God's pensioners, we magnify ourselves as though we were exclusive owners. Probably this is why God keeps some of us in poverty, for no greater temptation could befall us than to find ourselves with riches. In this way He answers our daily prayer, "Lead us not into temptation!"

 

PRAYER

We thank Thee our heavenly Father, for the new mercies of each returning day, for all that Thou hast given to us, and not less for that which Thou dost withhold. May we be receptive of all things that pertain to life and godliness. AMEN.

 

A note from Br. Meyer

Love the Lord God

Friday, August 07, 2009

“The upright love thee”
- Son_1:4

Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry him fast locked in their bosoms. They voluntarily deny themselves for his sake, but they are not to be driven to deny him. It is scant love which the fire of persecution can dry up; the true believer’s love is a deeper stream than this. Men have laboured to divide the faithful from their Master, but their attempts have been fruitless in every age. Neither crowns of honour, now frowns of anger, have untied this more than Gordian knot. This is no every-day attachment which the world’s power may at length dissolve. Neither man nor devil have found a key which opens this lock. Never has the craft of Satan been more at fault than when he has exercised it in seeking to rend in sunder this union of two divinely welded hearts. It is written, and nothing can blot out the sentence, “The upright love thee.” The intensity of the love of the upright, however, is not so much to be judged by what it appears as by what the upright long for. It is our daily lament that we cannot love enough. Would that our hearts were capable of holding more, and reaching further. Like Samuel Rutherford, we sigh and cry, “Oh, for as much love as would go round about the earth, and over heaven-yea, the heaven of heavens, and ten thousand worlds-that I might let all out upon fair, fair, only fair Christ.” Alas! our longest reach is but a span of love, and our affection is but as a drop of a bucket compared with his deserts. Measure our love by our intentions, and it is high indeed; ‘tis thus, we trust, our Lord doth judge of it. Oh, that we could give all the love in all hearts in one great mass, a gathering together of all loves to him who is altogether lovely!

Overcoming self

Thursday, August 06, 2009

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city." _16:32

What a foe to one's peace is one's own spirit! And what shall I call it? It is often an infernal spirit. Why? Because it bears the mark of Satan upon it. The pride of our spirit, the presumption of our spirit, the hypocrisy of our spirit, the intense selfishness of our spirit are often hidden from us. This wily devil, SELF, can wear such masks and assume such forms; this serpent, SELF, can so creep and crawl, can so twist and turn, and can disguise itself under such false appearances, that it is hidden often from ourselves.

Who is the greatest enemy we have to fear? We all have our enemies. But who is our greatest enemy? He that you carry in your own bosom; your daily, hourly, and momently companion, that entwines himself in nearly every thought of your heart; that suggests well near every motive; that sometimes puffs up with pride, sometimes inflames with lust, sometimes inflates with presumption, and sometimes works under feigned humility and fleshly holiness.

Now this SELF must be overcome; for if SELF overcomes us eventually, we shall perish in the condemnation of SELF. God is determined to stain the pride of human glory. He will never let self, (which is but another word for the creature,) wear the crown of victory. It must be crucified, denied, and mortified; it must be put off, so that Jesus may be put on; that in the denying of SELF, Jesus may be believed in; and that in the crucifixion of SELF, there may be a solemn spiritual union with Him who was crucified on Calvary.

Now, are we overcoming SELF? Are we buffeted? What says SELF? "Buffet back." Are we despised? What says SELF? "Despise back; retort angry look for angry look, and hasty word, for hasty word; an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." But what says the Spirit of God in a tender conscience? "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

The way to overcome self is by looking out of self to Him who was crucified upon Calvary's tree; to receive his image into our heart; to be clothed with his likeness; to drink into his spirit; and "receive out of his fullness grace for grace."


From Philpot : Way farer

Be spiritually minded

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6

Spiritual-mindedness is life. We fearlessly challenge every believer- What has been the effect in your soul of a low state of grace? What has been the effect of carnal indulgence of allowed sin- of needless communion with the world- of conformity to its policy and its pleasures- of unruly temper- of a volatile disposition, yes, of any species of carnality whatever: has it not been "death"? When a process of spiritual relapse has been allowed to proceed stealthily and unchecked- when the world, and sin, and self have gained an ascendancy, what has been the consequence? "Death!" 

The habit of prayer may not have been totally neglected, but there has been no communion with God- and so there has been death upon prayer. The Bible has not been entirely unread, but no light has beamed upon the sacred page- and so there has been death upon the Bible. The means of grace have not been utterly forsaken, but no grace has distilled from these channels- and so there has been death upon the means of grace. Thus a spiritual deathliness has crept over the soul, the effect and fruit of indulged and growing carnality. 

But "life" is the blessed effect of heavenly-mindedness. It is life springing from life, or rather, the inner life in its outer actings. What spiritual mightiness, almost omnipotent, does he possess, whose mind and heart and faculties are deeply immersed in the Spirit of Christ, closely allied to the Divine and heavenly! As sin is weakness, so holiness is strength. As carnality impairs, so spirituality invigorates. The one deadens, the other vivifies. Close dealing with Essential Life increases the life of spirituality. Much communion with Jesus draws forth "life more abundantly." 

It is impossible to live a life of faith in the Son of God, constantly taking to His blood every sin, to His heart every care, to His sympathy every sorrow, to His grace every corruption, to His arm every burden, without being conscious of new life, of augmented power, of increased heavenliness. Inquire of the man of prayer what is the effect in his soul of close filial communion with God? Ask the reflective mind what is the effect upon his spirit of holy meditation? Ask the conscience much beneath the cross what is the result of the constant sprinkling of the atoning blood? And, as with one voice, and with one utterance, each believer will answer, "Life!" Oh, there is an energizing influence in spirituality, a quickening of the spiritual life in heavenly-mindedness, which he only can understand whose converse is much with things heavenly, much with God. 

There is life in prayer, life in the word, life in ordinances, life in the enjoyment of vital religion, which transmits the thrill of its deep pulsations through the whole soul. Nor life alone in these. But when the storm of adversity blows- when sore affliction comes- when the "noise of the water-spout" is heard, and the tossing waves and the foaming billows roll over the soul- when the shadow of death is settling upon all creature-good; then, even then, the spiritual mind panting after life exclaims, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me." "This is my comfort in my affliction; for Your word has quickened me." And what is all this but the pledge and the prelude of the glorious consummation and crown of all- the life that is to come, even life everlasting?


From Spurgeon : The language is a bit archaic - but well explained!

God's Promises and God's Rest

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest.  (Heb_4:1-3)

Through the promises of God, spiritual rest can be experienced by all who believe. Initially, those who believe enjoy rest from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Additionally, those whose faith embraces more of the promises of God can enjoy rest from carnal striving and worldly indulgence. 

When the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, they had rest from the bondage they had known there. This pictures our rest from sin and guilt. Yet, the Lord had more rest to share with His people. He wanted to give them rest from the barrenness of wilderness striving that lay between Egypt and the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. This pictures our rest from fleshly striving in doubt and disobedience by drawing upon the riches that are ours in Christ. 

The Israelites wandered through the wilderness in hardness of heart for forty years. All of that generation (except Joshua and Caleb) missed the additional rest that God wanted them to experience. "Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest' " (Heb_3:10-11). They were out of Egypt, but they would not enter into the Promised Land. 

Are we entering into the additional rest that God has for us? "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it." The Promised Land is a picture of  the abundant spiritual life (not a picture of heaven - - no battles or failures in heaven). This additional rest is what Jesus offers to all who believe in Him. "I have come that they may have life (eternal life, forgiven of sin), and that they may have it more abundantly (richness of life, growing in practical righteousness)" (Joh_10:10). This abundant life is enjoyed by faith in the word of God, as it describes the riches that are ours in Christ. "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" (Eph_1:3). Will we take the Lord at His word and believe that we might enter in? "For we who have believed do enter that rest." Israel did not believe, so they did not enter in. "The word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it."  

Dear Lord, I thank You for giving me rest from sin and guilt, simply by trusting in Your promises. Now, I ask for new measures of additional rest from barrenness and striving, simply by trusting in Your promises of abundant life, in Jesus name, Amen.

 From Hoekstra

Job's Reasons to Praise the Lord

Thursday, July 30, 2009

When Job's life fell apart, and God was silent, Job still found reasons to praise God:

• He is good and loving (Job 10:12).
• He is all-powerful (Job 42:2; 37:5, 23).
• He notices every detail of my life (Job 23:10; 31:4).
• He is in control (Job 34:13).
• He has a plan for my life (Job 23:14).
• He will save me (Job 19:25).

From Rick Warren's notes:

Thomas

Tithe - a grand promise from the lord

Monday, July 27, 2009

"Prove me now" (Mal. 3:10).

What is God saying here but this: "My child, I still have windows in Heaven. They are yet in service. The bolts slide as easily as of old. The hinges have not grown rusty. I would rather fling them open, and pour forth, than keep them shut, and hold back. I opened them for Moses, and the sea parted. I opened them for Joshua, and Jordan rolled back. I opened them for Gideon, and hosts fled. I will open them for you--if you will only let Me. On this side of the windows, Heaven is the same rich storehouse as of old. The fountains and streams still overflow. The treasure rooms are still bursting with gifts. The lack is not on my side. It is on yours. I am waiting. Prove Me now. Fulfill the conditions, on your part. Bring in the tithes. Give Me a chance. --Selected

I can never forget my mother's very brief paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, "Bring ye the whole tithe in," and it ends up with "I will pour" the blessing out till you'll be embarrassed for space. Her paraphrase was this: Give all He asks; take all He promises." --S. D. Gordon

The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers! I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains! I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides! My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father's giving: it is beyond that we can ask. --J. H. Jowett

"All the rivers of Thy grace I claim,
Over every promise write my name" (Eph. 1:8-19).

Walk the Gospel Walk

Sunday, July 26, 2009

"Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ." _1:27

What is this conversation? The word means the whole of your life before God and before man. It is a very comprehensive term in the original, meaning, literally, "Conduct yourselves as citizens." It therefore includes the whole of our spiritual fellowship and daily communion with God and man. It thus views us as citizens of no base city; as citizens, I may indeed say, of a heavenly city, the new Jerusalem; and it bids us walk and speak, live and act, as becomes citizens of a heavenly country. This, then, is the meaning of the word "conversation" in our text, and by it we are called to walk with God as becomes the gospel. He has reconciled us to himself by the blood of his dear Son; and when we receive the atonement, or reconciliation, as the word means, then we can walk with God in peace, equity, and amity, for sin, which made the breach, is removed out of the way. So Levi, as ministering at the altar, and those near to God, walked of old. "My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips--he walked with me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity" (_2:5; _2:6). This is walking in the light as He is in the light, and so far as we can do this, our fellowship is with the Father (Jo_1:3-7).

And our conversation with God, our walk with God, must be as becomes the gospel of Christ. If we walk at freedom with God, in sweet liberty, with holy access, pouring out our heart before him, enjoying his presence, and having some discoveries of his goodness and mercy, then our conversation with God becomes the gospel. The gospel is a message of mercy. When, then, we embrace that mercy, and feel the power of it; when that mercy reaches our heart, melts our inmost soul, dissolves our doubts and fears, and removes legality and bondage, then we walk worthy of the gospel, as walking before God in the light of his countenance through the power of the gospel. God does not send the gospel to condemn us, for "there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit;" and they walk after the Spirit when they have access by him through Christ unto the Father.

Devotional - Merchants of Hope in this world

Monday, July 20, 2009

"Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope." (1Peter 3:15).

We have been justified by faith, and have peace with God through Jesus Christ. We now stand in grace and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. But as Paul contended, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Co.15:19).

Christ has risen from the dead and thereby given us full assurance of our hope. Now our lives can be everything God intends while we are on this earth, and our future in heaven holds only the brightest of possibilities. Our hope is eternal!

John the Beloved put it this way, " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." He then added, "And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:2,3).

Our hope of Christ's return, and of eternal blessing in Heaven, should have a clear and comprehensive influence in our lives while we live on this earth. So much so that others find themselves compelled to ask us why we are so hopeful.

When was the last time someone asked you that?

We are merchants of hope in a world desperately in need of it. Let's honor Christ by yielding our lives to His Lordship, and then we will be ever ready to deliver the goods of hope to all with whom we come in contact day by day.