Is your faith like the waves of the sea?

A middle-aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures since she's got another 30 years she might as well make the most of it.
She walks out of the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding by. She arrives in front of God and complains, "I thought you said I had another 30 years." God replies, "I didn't recognize you"

James 1:6-8

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does

Just like the illustration we have just read, when the woman asks God, God gives her 30 more years. God gives it to us because He is a generous God (James 1:5) When we ask God we need to do the two things as below:

• We must believe
• We must not doubt

A doubtful man is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, he is a double-minded man and is unstable in all he does. How many of us can relate to the above description? Are we like the waves of the sea, double minded and unstable? All of us believe that there is a God-He exists and He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. We believe in His existence, his presence and his power but do we believe in his loving care towards us? We doubt, we toss and get blown away by the faithless issues of our heart. We must not expect to receive anything from the Lord when we doubt.

The opposite of doubt is Faith. What is faith? Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us an assurance about things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character: (He is who He says He is) The end point of faith is believing in God's promises ( He will do what He says).

We cannot reach to the end point if we do not begin somewhere. We need to begin our journey of faith by believing in the existence of God, by believing in the character of our God. He is defnitely who He says He is. Who does He say He is?

(Revelation 1:8) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”Alpha ( α ) is the first letter in the Greek Alphabet and Omega (Ω) is the last and the 24th letter in the Greek Alphabets. Alpha means the beginning, Omega means the end.

(Psalms 90:12) Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Isaiah 44:6 This is what the LORD says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God

The same verse is repeated in final and last chapter of the Bible in (Revelation 22:13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

How many of us believe in the character of our Redeemder, the one and only Lord God Almighty? How many of us can boldly say that He is the Alpha and the Omega of our lives, the first and the last and that there is no other God other than Him? When we don't start somewhere in beleiving in the character of God, how can we go someplace in our journey without the presence of such a great Redeemer in our lives and believe in His promises that He will do what He says He will do?

When He says He will come back to take us home with Him to the mansion He is preparing for us, do you believe that statement? that promise? Friends, when we believe in His promises and anticipate all that He tells us He will do- THAT IS FAITH.

My Mum and her dear friend Beckie Johnson always say this : For All I Trust In Him (FAITH) My husband quotes this acronym in his sermons (FAITH) FANTASTIC ADVENTURE IN TRUSTING HIM.

Is Jesus amazed at your lack of faith just like He was amazed by the people of Nazareth?(Mark 6:6) And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Nazareth was the hometown of Jesus and the people of Nazareth did not believe in Jesus even though they know who He is. Friends, God cannot do any miracles amongst us if we do not believe. (Mark 6:5) And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them.

Why are you not able to go anywhere in your life today? Has success in your life reached a pleateau? Is it your doubt and unbelief the cause of your failures? Where is your faith at today? Are you at the beginning or the end point? Many times we are like that middle-aged woman who asks God if this is it!

God gives us so many chances to take an EXIT if we have messed up,but we refuse to change our lanes to take an EXIT, we want to continue at the same speed, same lane- the fast lane to get results. When we finally decide to take an EXIT, then we do things our way just like the woman did with her external appearance to look good for the world. The problem in the first place was her heart(her inner being, her most important organ) not her outward appearance. By looking good on the outside, won't heal you internally.

God wants us to have an inside-out cleansing not outside-in. When we do an outside to inside cleansing of ourselves, God will not recognize us.

Where are you at today? What is that needs change and cleansing in your life today? Are you in search of this redeemer? According to every religion, other than Christianity, people are in search of God, in search of peace, they do anything and everything to see God. Friends, other religions search for God but our God came in search of you and me to have a RELATIONSHIP with you and me. Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with God. Our God came all the way from His throne in heaven to search for everyone of us.

Do you trust in His character to be able to believe in His promises? The only way we can get FAITH is by hearing about the good news of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

This morning my best friend, my sister, Julie Boles was telling me that "Zion, when we go through the darkest times or the toughest times in our life, all we have to do is ask God to show the glimpses of His plan for us. Imagine that ! If we can just see the glimpses of His plans for you and I, how would be feel when we see His whole plan unravel in our lives? In order to see all that God has in store for us, we need to have FAITH!

Let us therefore intimately introspect our lives today: Are you like the waves of the sea that are being tossed by the wind? Are you double-minded? When you ask, do you completely trust in God? Are you doubting Him and His sovereignity in your life? Are you battling a health issue? health of your child, your spouse? health of a loved one? Are you battling the storms in your marriage? How can you calm the storms in your life, when you yourself are like the waves of the sea that is being tossed by the wind because of your unbelief? Are you trusting in the calmer of the storms? or are you trying to calm the storms yourself? God is our rock in times of trouble, His love is our anchor in the storm. Trust in Him because He is the faithful one, so unchanging, He is the ageless one, and He is the rock of peace.

I have added the song "Faithful one" so that you can listen to the song while you read this devotion.

You cannot get faith without hearing the word of Christ. Read your word, meditate on it so that you will be like a tree planted by the streams of water (Psalms 1)

Don't be unstable and double-minded. Just trust in Him because It is a Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him. Is Jesus the Alpha and the Omega of your day? Is he the Alpha and Omega in all your plans?

Be Blessed and be a blessing

Are your trials making you sleepless? James 1:2-4

An old lady in England who had stood the bombings with amazing fortitude was asked the secret of her calmness in the midst of such frightful danger. She replied, "Well, every night I says my prayers and then I remembers how the parson told us God is always watching; so I go to sleep. After all, there's no need for both of us to stay awake!"
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

James writes his epistle to believers who were going through very tough times- They were suffering in the hands of unbelieving Jews probably just like the above story we read about the old lady from England.
James1:2-4 (2)Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3)because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (4)Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

What are the words that are most important in the passage?

• Joy
• Trials
• Faith
• Perseverance
• Mature
• Complete

James is the writer of this letter/epistle. James is the half brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19). During the time that James wrote this letter, there was severe persecution for believers in the hands of unbelievers and Christians were scattered throughout the Roman world. During such time, James is writing this letter to encourage the believers who were scattered (James 1:1).

James does not use the word "IF" trouble comes, he uses the word "When". When we are on this earth, it is very natural for us to face troubles. Disobedience to God is where all the trouble started. When God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15), they disobeyed God and ate the fruit. In Genesis 2:16 God clearly tells them that if they eat the forbidden fruit, they will surely die. You all know the list of events after that. God cursed the women that she will give birth in pain and a man has to struggle to scratch a living from the ground that the Lord cursed as a result of their transgressing the law (Genesis 3:16-24)

James knew very well that we are all born to have troubles in this world. That is why he is encouraging the believers to consider it pure joy when trials come their way. Only when a Christian has total faith in God, that is when he can consider it pure joy when trials and struggles come his way. During times of trials, God is testing our faith. Remember my previous devotion on "How do you react when God is disciplining you". God will discipline those that are his sons and daughters not his illegitimate children.

When we are bought by His precious blood, we are His sons and daughters and Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trials and tribulations. (John 16:33) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. All of us are are prone to the trials on this earth. These trials are not permanent, they are all temporary. When our faith is tested, we need perseverance/ endurance. When we endure the troubles in our lives, we will only become perfect, mature, complete so that we will lack nothing.We can mature and become perfect only when perseverance will finish its work.

Friends, remember the promise that we have in Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

In all things not some things, God works for our own good if we love Him. How many of us can be like the old lady in England who stood the bombings with amazing fortitude and calmness when there is frightful danger?
What was the secret of her calmness?The secret of her calmness is her sound sleep, because she decided not to stay awake when God is watching over her. How many times do we struggle to keep our weary eyes open when we know that God is watching over us? Psalms 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunities for growth and maturity. We also must trust the promises of God on endurance from James 1:12
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Don't complain if you want the crown of life! I am the chief of complainers! I love to complain about me, myself and poor I and my problems. God is constantly working in that area of my life to stop complaining and start counting on my blessings. We are His prized posession (James 1:18)

Be rest assured that when you are fast asleep, God is watching over you, your husband, your wife, your children. He is the only God who will keep you safe until you see Him face to face in glory.

After reading the devotion, can you boldly say that the trials, the struggles you are going through sure has a purpose?

Let us intimately introspect our lives today. How are you handling your trials? Are you considering it pure joy or are you complaining and getting into a mode of self pity and depression?
Friends, Jesus has already gone through everything you are going through right this minute, that is why He is asking us to be of good cheer, because He has already overcome the world.

When you have a God who will give you sleep, why are you popping pills to treat insomnia? Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
I was once there popping pills to fight insomnia and depression because I was struggling with my own strength to break free from my struggles and pain. I was impatient and wanted quick results to the pain I was going through. How many of us are like that demanding quick fixes from God?

Are you ruining your sleep to keep your relationships intact? Friends, are you eating the bread of sorrows when the Lord loves you so much and He is willing to give you sleep? Are you still immature and incomplete?

Be Blessed and be a blessing.

Is Jesus inside or outside the camp in your life? Are we praying for our leaders?

Hebrews 13:7 & Vs.17-18 Passage Look up.

Hebrews 13th Chapter is the final chapter in the book of Hebrews. The writer is ending this chapter with a moral exhortation in Vs.7 through Vs.18

We as believers are being exhorted to do the following to our leaders:

• Remember your leaders
• Remember those who spoke the word of God to you
• We need to consider the outcome of their way of life
• We need to imitate their faith
• Do not be carried away by strange teachings
• Obey your leaders and submit to their authority
• Obey your leaders so that their work will be a joy and not a burden-bringing grief to your leaders will not bring profit to you
• Pray for your leaders- so that they will have clear conscience and that they will have desire to live honorably in every way

What is it that we need to do as believers?

• We must be strengthened by grace and not by ceremonial foods
• Let us go outside the camp to Jesus and bore the disgrace He bore:

From vs.11, we see that under the Old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies were burnt outside the camp. Anything that was ceremonially unclean had to stay outside the camp.
Lord Jesus Christ was slain as God's final offering outside the walls of Jerusalem. "Outside the camp" means a place of rejection and separation. Jesus Christ is still outside the camp in this world today. He is still the rejected one of the world. We are therefore exhorted in Hebrews 13:13 that we too must go outside the camp to Jesus and bear the disgrace He bore for us to save us from eternal damnation.

The camp in the scripture means the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the religious center of that day. The priests were sacrificing animals, bringing in the blood into the holy place as a sacrifice for Sin and burnt the bodies outside the camp. They were doing everything and anything that seemed religiously and ritually correct, but they have rejected God's lamb- who is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jesus was denied a place even to die in the city of Jerusalem, instead they made him to take the rugged path of Calvary to the city walls of Golgotha to die on the rugged cross that was on a hill faraway. The camp represents the corrupted religious system of rituals and ceremonies.

That is why the word of God exhorts us to go beyond all those ceremonial rituals of trying to be clean and go outside the camp and bear the disgrace that Jesus bore for you and for me.
Outside the camp was where the dead carcasses were dumped as worthless trash. Jesus was dumped as worthless trash for you and for me "outside the camp". Every believer who wishes to follow Christ in absolute surrender abandoning all self-righteous rituals will find himself outside the camp along with Jesus.

Friends, therefore if we are to be outside the camp along with our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to be set apart. How do we then look different? We look different not by our outward appearance but by our testimony, our example set before our own families, by living a separated, set apart life. To take a separated stand may mean loss of friends, business, popularity, and social position, but it is the path that our Saviour trod, and if we are to follow Him, it means going without the camp, outside the camp to Jesus and bearing reproach.

What about your very own life? IS JESUS CHRIST STILL OUTSIDE THE CAMP IN YOUR VERY OWN LIFE? are you still thinking of him as worthless trash or do you want to embrace Him into your life?

We as Christians need to live a set apart life not by outward adorning but by the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (I Peter 3:3,4) On this earth we will be with Jesus outside the camp just until our roll call to wake up ends- to see Jesus Face to face, because this world is not out permanent home, but we should look forward to our heavenly home which is going to be breath taking and far more beautiful and so that we can be with the Lord forever (Hebrews 13:14)

• We need to offer to Jesus continually a sacrifice of our praises through our lips proclaiming our praise and allegiance to His name
• Finally don't forget to do good and share with those in need- because these are the sacrifices that please God

Friends, what an awesome and clear exhortation from the word of God today. We need to pray for our leaders, we need to obey them. There is no leader that is perfect because our Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect leader we have and will ever have; its because the words of God clearly says in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

God has called few people on this earth to be leaders for us to bring us to the knowledge of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need and must do all that the word of God exhorts us to do. Our leaders here on earth are prone to fall that is why we are asked to pray for them that they live honorable lives and do all that pleases God. When we pray for our leaders, God will give us the discernment to chose the leaders we need to follow and obey.
Good leaders can always be remembered by the example they set for their sheep.

Let us therefore pray for our Christian leaders that they must live an honorable life, setting an example not only to others outside their home, but inside their own homes.
Christian leaders are vulnerable to criticism from others, pride(if they succeed) and depression (when they fail), and Satan's constant effort to destroy their work for God. The leaders in your church are placed by the loving father, our God who has entrusted them with a responsibility of caring for you. Every Pastor or a leader experiences a feeling of inadequacy or loneliness at some time or another in ministry. Serving God and serving others is not an easy task.

Friends, therefore let us pray for our leaders so that they will be God-pleasers and not pleasers of men because the Lord has to give them the final reward for being a faithful servant and a faithful steward of the sheep given to him.

Let us intimately introspect ourselves this day if we are praying for our spiritual leaders, including our spouses, the leaders of our country to do what the word of God tells them to do.

Are we living a pleasing life in the sight of the Lord? What is stopping you from being loyal to Christ today? Are we willing to go outside the camp along with Jesus to suffer reproach to win souls for the Lord.
If Jesus died for us, no sacrifice should be greater than that for us to make for Him. How much time do we spend adorning ourselves in front of the mirror to look good externally and how much time are we spending in the presence of the Lord to be beautiful in the hidden man of our heart to look good to Jesus and to others around us?


Be blessed and be a blessing

What are you holding back from God today?

Hebrews 13:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Here is a conversation between a $100 $20 bill and a $1 bill:

What denomination circulates in your church?A 100 dollar bill, a 20 dollar bill, and a one dollar bill meet up at the shredder at the end of their lives. The 100 says, "I've seen the whole world during my lifetime. Why, I've been on cruises in Caribbean, safaris in Africa, and vacations in Europe." The 20 says, "Well, I've not done quite as well, but I have been to Atlantic City, Disneyland, and Starbucks." They both turn to the one dollar bill and ask, "How about you?" The one, not wanting to be outdone, says, "I've seen the whole country as well. I've been from church to church to church..." Then the 100 asked, "What's a church?"

Related to the above story, when I was a little girl going to sunday school, my parents always gave us 3 girls our sunday school offering in an envelope. My mother, being our Sunday School teacher always encouraged us to give clean, crispy notes to God. I asked her once, "why" and she replied to me by saying, " Zion, God is not a beggar, that is why we need to give God our best".

I still follow that principle in my life.

Our God is the creator, he created the heaven and earth and all the goldmines, the diamond ores, and every piece of silver and platinum that exists on this earth. Being the creator himself, He is commanding us not to be lovers of money. Who knows us better than God? He knows us that it is the human nature to love money, to strive for money, to strive for riches and wealth. That is why he is commanding us not to love money.

Isn't the above story so true? Many times we spend the big bucks for big pleasures and small bucks for God.

According to I Timothy 6:10, the Bible clearly says that money is the root of all kinds of evil.

In this day and age, many marriages thrive on the financial success of a spouse. If the husband loses his job, then he automatically loses his wife if she is living with him only for the love of his money. Isn't that so true? Relationships are linked to money. How many of us can say to our spouses today that no matter what, we are meant to be with each other forever?

How sad! Husbands and wives have a slogan imprinted on their foreheads "Bring me money and I will love you like you will not believe" But God's word is warning us not to love money.

Money can buy anything on this earth, but it cannot buy God's love, it cannot buy salvation, it cannot buy eternal life and our eternal mansions.

Who are you in love with today? Is it the buyer of the temporary pleasures of this world- Money or is it the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised to be with you forever?

God is clearly telling us that we need to be content with what we have, because God's promise is to be with us always, forever. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

How many of us are going through a financial crisis in our lives right this minute? How many of us live with an uncertainity in our hearts about our jobs? Every week we receive calls or emails from family and friends asking for prayer for their job security.

Friends, therefore hold on to God's promises and be content in whatever state you are for Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Trust in the Lord. Whenever you go shopping for grocery, God is speaking to us through the dollar bill we exchange at the store for food. "IN GOD WE TRUST" How many of us can say boldly today that our trust is in God?

God has promised the words of his eternal presence to Jacob in Genesis 28:15

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

God is promising Jacob that He will never leave him until He has done whatever He has promised him. God's protection is always with us, with our spouses, with our children, with our grandchildren, our sisters and brothers. God is promising Jacob that He will be with him, that He will watch over Jacob wherever he goes and that He will not leave him until He had done all that He had promised to fulfill in our lives.

Many times we are not even aware of the presence of the Lord, we are not aware of His protection over us, just like Jacob in Genesis 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

The same God who promise Jacob of His presence, His protection and His peace in Genesis 28:15, promises even Joshua in Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. God promises Joshua that no one will be able to stand against him all the days of his life.

What a sweet assurance.

Moses is telling Joshua not to be afraid in Dueteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

I have a dear friend Ashley and she has 3 little boys, one of the boys Jackson who is only 3 years old said to me once" Jesus is awesome you know" When a little boy like Jackson can testify about the awesomeness of Jesus in his life of only 3 years, how much can we as grown up, mature adults can testify about the awesomeness of Jesus in our very own lives?

How many of us can hold on to the promise in Hebrews 13:5 " I will never leave you nor forsake you"

Are we holding on to our money or are we holding on to the Promise keeping God in our lives?

Are we loving our money, our status or our accomplishments more than God?

How many of us are holding our best from God? How many of us just give God because we have to give Him something?

Our God is not a beggar, just like my mother told me when I was a little girl. She always told me that we have to give God our best. Our prime life, our prime talents, our prime finances and our prime and most important organ in our bodies- Ofcourse our heart!

Give it to Him and see how he will be with you always, wherever you go, whatever you do, He will not leave you until He fulfills all that He has promised you.

Let us intimately introspect our lives this day: What are you holding back from God today? Is it your life of sin, your finances, your pleasures, your talents? Give it to Him in absolute surrender.

What are you struggling with? A relationship break up? Are you lonely, depressed, suffereing a health issue? a financial hardship? What is it? Jesus is awesome, you know?

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

How many of us are like the $100 bill? asking the $1 bill, What is a church? Who is God?

Jesus promises His disciples after He gives and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."them the great commission in Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same God who promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua that He will be with them, that He will never leave them nor forsake them. He is the same for us as well. He will be with us to the very end of age.

Sing this hymn in your hearts today:

All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely Give. Wordly pleasures all forsaken, take me Jesus take me now.

What a beautiful hymn to think about. Just surrender everything to Him.

Be Blessed and be a blessing

Are you a workaholic for temporary pleasures or for eternal spiritual blessings?

Hebrews12:14-17
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

In our monotonous, busy schedule lifestyle all we think of is work. For some people work is worship and that leads to a person being a workaholic. I had a very dear friend who once called me to talk to me about her marital problems and I asked her " what do you think is the main reason you both feel you cannot co-exist?" She said to me "Zion, plain simple! My husband is a workaholic. All he thinks of is work and nothing else. He doesn't think about me or my needs.
This marriage eventually ended up in a horrible tragedy.


Friends, but the word of God clearly tells us to work at very important things in our life.

• Work at living in peace with everyone
• Work at living a holy life
• Work at looking after each other
• Watch that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble and corrupt you
• Work at making sure no one is immoral or godless

In a Christian's life, it is very important to work at the above two things. We can live in peace with people who want peace. Can we live with people who want war and strife? No, we cannot. No marriage is a perfect marriage but God asks us to live in peace with everyone including our spouses, our parents, our siblings, co-workers, every believer and with everyone else. (Romans 14:17) For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, bit of living a life of goodness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. When we live with an attitude of peace, goodness and joy, we will not only please God but others will approve of us too. (Romans 14:18) We need a lot of patience and encouragement to make peace with everyone-even the people who have hurt us. Only God can give us that patience and encouragement we need to help us live in harmony with each other(Romans 15:5)

Let us seek God and ask Him for patience and encouragement to live in peace with everyone. When we commune with God everyday, when we spend time with him all alone, one on one then we can ask Him anything in prayer and He will gladly answer all our petitions. When we have sin in our lives we need to confess to the Lord. Sin always blocks our vision of God; so if we want to see God, we need to renounce all sin from our life.

God's word is clearly commanding us to work at living a holy life. We cannot live a holy life when we are not in tune with the Lord and His holy word. When we do not have holiness how can we be in peace with all men? Holiness is coupled with living in peace. When we ourselves do not have a right relationship with God, how can we have a right relationship with our fellow human beings? We can have right relationship with God by spending quality time with Him. In quietness there is strength. In quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15) Spend quiet time with the Lord. Make Him your priority. He comes First and everything else follows. We need to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first.
How many of us are frustrated with our daily mundane routines? How many want to have a life style change? Then let us start by changing the way we start our day. As soon as we wake up, let us praise God because of great mercy we are able to see yet another day in our lives. Thank Him first and spend time with Him first before anything else.

How can we enter into God's holy place, into His sanctuary and How can we stand firm? If we are not holy, we cannot see the Lord.

• Those who live blameless lives
• Those who do what is right
• Those who speak with sincere hearts
• Those who refuse to gossip
• Those who refuse to harm their neighbors
• Those who refuse to speak evil of their friends
• Those who despise sinners
• Those who honor faithful followers of the Lord
• Those who keep their promises when it hurts
• Those who lend money without charging interest
• Those who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent

Friends, we have seen a list of things that we need to do to enter into God's holy place, into His sanctuary. How many of us are falling short of something from the list?

As we grow in our relationship with our God, our redeemer, we will automatically develop a desire to live by His standards. Words are powerful. The Bible tells us that we need to bridle our tongue (James 3:2) Too much talk leads to sin (Proverbs 10:19) we need to be sensible and weigh our words and the Bible tells that the words of godly are like sterling silver (Proverbs 10:20)
Beloved readers, we need to live in peace and in holiness. When we can do the two main important things in our life, we will be able to look after each other so that we will receive the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15) and we should not allow any poisonous roots of bitterness grow between us to trouble us and corrupt us. Bitterness overshadows even our deepest christian relationships. Let us also not hold grudges from our past. Let go and let God into your lives so that you will be fruitful in all you do.

Finally we must be careful not to be immoral or ungodly like Esau who sold his birthright just for a morsel of food. (Genesis 25:29-34) Esau forgot about the big picture by selling his birthright just to fill his temporary hunger. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4) God made Esau the eldest son. It was not Esau's choice to be the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah. God had planned so many blessings for the eldest son. Friends, he sold his birth right and did not think about the long lasting consequences. Esau failed to understand the value and sacredness of his birth right
How many times we become Esau's? How many times we commit sin for momentary pleasure and live with guilt and shame and memories for the rest of our lives?Sin looks so attractive just like the pot of red stew. Esau means Edom or red. Red sold his birth right for Red stew!! We are conceived in sin, but Jesus shed His blood for you and for me to have salvation and eternal life, many times we get attracted to the same sin from which we were conceived in. Just like Esau who was born red at birth was attracted to the red stew which made him sell his birth right.

God has given us a birth right too. God's word clearly tells us that we are His children, we are heirs and joint heirs with him (Romans 8:18) He has given us a birth right to be called His sons and daughters to live, holy acceptable lives and what have we done with our birth right today? Did we sell it? are we about to sell it or are we planning to sell it in the near future? Are we taking our spiritual inheritance lightly just like Esau did?
Esau breaks down and weeps before his father to Bless him (Genesis 27:38) "But do you have only one blessing?" Oh! my father, bless me too!" Even though Esau cried, he did not get his blessings from his father, Isaac. When we sell our birth right that God has given us and seek repentance, God will forgive us, but we cannot eliminate the consequences of sin. Are you battling the consequences of your past sin, guilt and shame? Leave it at the feet of Jesus, He will wash you and make you new. Do not disregard the spiritual blessings God has in store for you just for a morsel of sin. Think twice before you act. I have done many such mistakes in my life. God is a restorer, a rebuilder, a renewer, a redeemer. Trust Him friends, make Him the Lord of your life and renounce everything that the redeemer does not want in your life.

Let us therefore introspect our lives today. How is our relationship with Jesus? Are you living a holy life? Are you workaholic for temporary and materialistic pleasures or are you a workaholic at working on the eternal spiritual blessings? Is your birth right and its privileges intact ? God has redeemed you from the slave market of sin and bondage. Don't go back to it.
Be a workaholic in living a peaceable, holy life with God, your spouse and everyone around you.

Be Blessed and be a blessing

Did you take your Spiritual Multivitamin today?

(Hebrews 12:12)Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Our devotion from yesterday was "How do we react when God disciplines us?"

Verse 12 starts with the word "Therefore" whenever we see the word therefore, we need to go back and read the passage.

Hebrews 12:11- No discipline is pleasant and enjoyable while it is happening. It is painful! During the process of discipline, we might get weary and tired and as a result we might end up with feeble arms and weak knees. In Vs.11 God promises us that after a painful discipline there will be a harvest of righteousness and peace. That is why we need to strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees.

We need to strengthen our feeble arms and knees (Isaiah 35:3, Hebrews 12:12) God is a demanding coach who pushes us to our limits and demands that our lives be disciplined.

There was a man in the Bible, whose words supported those who were falling, encouraged many people with shaky knees, and strengthened those who were weak. This man was a well respected man, a blessed man. He was blameless- a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. Everyone listened to his advise because he was a man of integrity. He set an excellent example to everyone one of his friends and his own family.

This man is none other than JOB. (Read Job 4:3,4,) & (Job 29:21)

Job feared the Lord. He was a wealthy man of upright character who loves God. He was a man who would purify his children by waking up early in the morning and offering a burnt offering for each of them (All his ten children. 7 sons and 3 daughters) He thought to himself "Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts"

That is how upright Job was in the land of Uz.

God allowed adversity in the life of Job to prove to Satan that no matter what Job is a man that will trust in the Lord (Job 13:15) Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him:but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

During this time of adversity, Job's friends were condemning him instead of consoling him. Many times we have people like that in our lives. They think we are blessed when all goes well for us, but when we go through adversity, they think that it is because of our sin that we are suffering.

Friends, remember that the Lord disciplines all those He loves; all those that are his own children. One of Job's friends is speaking to him in Job Chapter 4. His own friend is testifying Job's good qualities that Job helped many people who were weak and who needed strength. His very own friend is testifying about his reverence for God and his intergrity.

(Job 4:6) Doesn�t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn�t your life of integrity give you hope? It was Job's reverence for God and his life of integrity that enabled him to strengthen the people with shaky knees and to support those who were falling.

Friends Job did not suffer because he committed sin according to his three friends. Job suffered because it was God's choice. Job passed the test and God blessed him double fold.

How many of us are like Job? How many of us can say the words like Job "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him (Job 13:15)

Many times it is so difficult for us to maintain godly ways like Job before God when we are suffering adversity? Job lost everything but did not let go of God who was his everything.

How many of us live an exemplary life before our friends, before our own families?

Do we have a friend who can testify about our integrity about our reverence for God?

Can your spouse testify that about you ? Do your children testify about you like the way Job's friend did?

Beloved reader, my husband always uses this phrase in his sermons "With out the Test there is no Testimony." That's' so true

Vs.13 asks us to make level paths for our feet. How many of us can walk straight on an uneven ground? We all stumble and fall down when we try to walk on an uneven path. That is why we are asked to make level paths. To make our path levelled we need to work hard.

If our feet have to be on a levelled path, our knees have to bend. We need to be like Job. He woke up early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for his children. How many of us sacrifice our time for our children? Do we offer them as living sacrifices to the Lord? Do we offer a broken and a contrite heart to Him? (Psalms 51:17) The sacrifice that the Lord desires is a broken and a repentant heart. Do we have a heart like that this morning?

What is that you have done wrong that needs to be rectified? Seek God and His forgiveness and He will wipe away all your sins and make you a new creation. Are we like Job? I always feel that Job is the most loving dad that has ever existed. He did not want his children to curse God even in their hearts. He was consistent in offering sacrifices for his children.

How many of our knees are bending? How many of us pray by our children's bed side? How many of us are levelling the path for them? so that they can walk and not be disabled.

Strong feet make a man mighty, but a strong knee makes him mightier still. Christ's soldiers always win their battles on their knees. On their feet they may be conquered, but on their knees they are invincible. The praying legion is the thundering legion- Charles Spurgeon

If we ourselves cannot walk on levelled path, how can we expect our children to follow us?

God promises His children that He is the one who will make the rough places smooth.

Isaiah 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Friends, our God is a promise fulfilling God. He will make the paths straight for us, provided we live a life of integrity, an upright life just like Job.

Does your life, testimony and example make it easier for others to believe and follow Christ or does it make others reject and hate Jesus Christ? When you live a life that reflects Jesus Christ, people who are around you will not be confused and misled. People will not wonder about you and your behaviour.

(Proverbs 4:26& 27) Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

We need to make level paths for our feet and take ways that are firm and we need to look straight ahead (Proverbs 4:25) and fix your eyes on what lies before you rather than swerving to the right or to the left and we need to keep our foot from evil and press on towards our goal.

Let us therefore intimately introspect our lives today. Are we like Job? Are we helping people with shaky knees and feeble arms or are we living just an average life to get us by today?

Life is short my friends. Even Job one of the wealthiest man in the land of Uz did not know that calamity was just around the corner for him. In the twinkle of an eye he lost everthing.

It could happent to us. Are we ready to face any situation like the way Job did? Are our children being prayed for? Are our spouses being prayed for? God does not want burnt offerings my friends, He wants your heart. Give your heart to Him today. Make Him the Lord of your life and He will make the crooked paths straight for you and will strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

What is your spiritual multivitamin? Prayer, reading and meditating God's word and living an exemplary life. That is the secret to healthy arms and knees.

My dad quotes this in his sermons: Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees � William Cowper

Be Blessed and be a blessing.

How do you react to God's discipline?

(Hebrews 12:5 )And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a]
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

If I were to give a title to the above passage, I would call it "DISCIPLINE" just because the passage talks all about discipline. How do we define discipline?
Discipline: Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.

Discipline is nothing but training. What do we need when we are going through this training? We need endurance. Parents discipline children, teachers discipline their students, and God disciplines His children.

We discipline our children because we love them and because we want them to be above and beyond anyone else.

Growing up, I had undergone severe discipline from my parents. Sometimes our discipline was so strict, my eldest sister, Sinai came up with the most interesting and weird ideas unable to put up with the strict discipline we underwent at home.One fine morning she called for a meeting with myself and our younger sister, Olives. To our curiosity both myself and Olives yielded to her call for this very important meeting and went into her bedroom and she immediately orders us to kneel down to pray and to our surprise both of us asked her why are we praying and for whom? and she said " we have to pray for mummy" we said why? she immediately responded that we must pray that she must die" What? I responded having so much love for my mother. She said" Yes, we have to pray that she will die because she is so strict and she behaves as if she were our step mom"

Friends, hope this little story made you all laugh!! But then that is how we felt about parents who disciplined us. Back in India the rule was never to spare the rod. My parents obeyed that word and fulfilled that word to its fullest.

In spite of all that we ended up respecting and loving both our parents very much.

Why then do we use a different measuring rod for our God? Don't you think He has the authority to discipline us? Of course He does. He is the absolute monarch, the absolute authority. He has the right to discipline us because He created us, and because He sent His son to die for us on the cross, and we were bought by His precious blood. How much more then should we respect our God. We get so angry with God and so many times we even stop going to the church because we are enduring a hardship in our lives. Even though we are faithless, He remains faithful to us. He loves us no matter what.

There are two things that we are not allowed to do when we are going through discipline:

• Do not make light of the Lord's discipline
• Do not lose heart when He rebukes you

Why should we not do the above two things to the Lord?

• Because the Lord disciplines those He loves
• He punishes everyone He accepts as a son

Why does God discipline us?

• God disciplines us for our good
• God disciplines us so that we may share in His holiness

Every discipline seems very painful. I have never met anyone on this earth that would testify that the discipline they went through was very pleasant.

We just finished administering vaccinations to our daughter, Jordan. On our way to the doctor's office, she is so playful and happy and does not have the slightest clue that we are about to take her to the doctor for the painful vaccinations. We as parents know that the vaccinations are for her good, we also know that it hurts her, getting her the vaccinations not only hurts her, it hurts us as well seeing her crying in pain. It is the toughest day of our lives when we see her crying in pain. Does Jordan know that the vaccinations are good for her though they are painful? No! She does not. After the vaccinations are done, she gives a very angry look to the doctor, and she will be upset with us too. When will she realise what we have done for her was meant for her own good? She realises it when she does not get sick with polio, with influenza, with mumps and so on.

Discipline is a momentary hurt to make us better people. What then is the end result of discipline?

• Discipline produces a harvest of righteousness
• Discipline produces us a harvest of peace

I hated discipline when I was growing up. My mother was stricter than my dad. That is why my sister called for that horrible prayer for my mother and not my dad. After so many years in my life, I appreciate my parents for all the discipline they have given us growing up.

Had I not been disciplined the way I was, I would never live life the way I am living now. Teach a young man in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) I have made a lot of mistakes in my life just like you and many others in this world, but friends, God has given me an EXIT and only through the discipline from God, I have learnt to trust in Him more to make me righteous and make me live in peace.

Do you feel the pain of discipline right this minute? Friends, stop complaining and just yield to God. When you are going through this momentary pain, feel good because God loves you.

The word of God says so clearly that the Lord discipline only the ones He loves. If you are not His son, His daughter, He will not discipline you. God's discipline is a sign of His deep love for us. When God corrects you, see it as a proof of His love, and ask Him what He is trying to teach you through the rough phase that you are going through.

Many times when we are going through discipline we respond in so many negative ways:

• We accept discipline with resignation
• We accept discipline with self-pity
• We accept discipline with anger and resentment towards God

Or we can accept discipline with a grateful heart. He gave up His life for us, why can't we just yield to Him in whatever situation we are in today and just thank Him because He will make us purer than gold. God will refine us until we shine to His likeness.

(James 1: 2-5) We need to consider it pure joy when we face trials. Because when our faith is tested, it produces perseverance, perseverance will make you mature and grow.

Therefore friends, let your perseverance, your endurance grow so that you will be perfect and complete needing nothing.If you need wisdom, ask God for it just like King Solomon did and the LORD will gladly give it to you. (James 1:5)

What is your reaction when you are going through trials and heartaches? Are you becoming more resentful and angry with God or are you considering it pure joy and enduring it to become more mature?

Let us intimately introspect ourselves. Firstly, are we the children of God? If not, make Him the Lord of your life, and seek God's wisdom right this moment to face any circumstance or situation you are presently going through to become righteous and live life the way God wants you to live.

Let me close with this quote:

Where are the marks of the cross in your life? Are there any points of identification with your Lord? Alas, too many Christians wear medals but carry no scars.
Vance Havner

Friends remember that there is no crown without a cross. Just bear it!!! because you and I have a crown awaiting us.

Be Blessed and be a blessing

What have you done with the living water that God has given you?

(Matthew 27:24)


When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.You see to it.” (KJV)



(John 13:5) Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.(New American Standard Bible)



It was an awesome day today for myself and my husband watching Austin Paul, a young boy being baptized.


Brent, one of our very dear friends who is a known Medical Doctor in Tennesse shared the word of God at the baptism,on Pilate and Jesus, and that made me introspect today on the significance of water.



In the above scripture passage, we see two verses with the word "water" in them.


In Matthew 27 chapter, we see a list of events of the Death of Jesus.


The crowd bring Jesus to their Governer Pilate to have him crucified.

What was Pilate's response to the people's outcry? Vs24, clearly says that he could not prevail the tumult at all, and not being able to deal with the prolonged stress from the crowd, he takes water and washes his hands before the multitude saying that he is innocent of the blood of this just person.


Pilate knew Jesus was just and innocent. Even his own wife confirms that to him in Vs.19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
She tells him not to do anything to Jesus. He should have listened to her, instead he takes water and washes off his hands.


Pilate became innocent in the eyes of the multitude, but friends, he became guilty of the blood of Jesus.

Pilate should have taken the water and should have just humbled himself by kneeling down before Jesus and washed the feet of this just God, just like the way Jesus did to the feet of the disciples.


(John 13:5)Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, as the lowliest slave would do, and washed and dried his disciples' feet.



Just like our friend, Brent said this morning at the Baptism. Both Pilate and Jesus used water but for two different purposes.

Pilate should have washed the feet of Jesus and accepted Him as the Lord of his life. Pilate knew in his heart that Jesus, who is called the Christ, was just and innocent and being the governor for the people, he had full power and authority to make important decisions for the government. He could have prayed and asked God to give him the wisdom to deal with the situation and he could have given orders to the crowds to fall prostrate at the feet of Jesus to accept Him as the Lord of their life. Probably the whole Roman empire would have changed that day to accept the Lord.

The biggest mistake that he did was consult the crowd instead of consulting God.(Matthew 27:22) What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

There was a deep conflict in his very own soul. He wanted to let go of Jesus as he knew Jesus was innocent, but the crowd were screaming and shouting to crucify Jesus. There was confusion as he was not listening to his very own heart about Jesus. He decided to please men instead of God. How many times are you in that situation yourselves? When we please men you and I know the repercussions. The word of God clearly says that It is better to put our trust in the Lord than to put our trust in people.

(Psalms 118:8, 9) It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

What a contrast my friends. Pilate was a man pleaser and Jesus was a God pleaser. He wanted to fulfill the purpose for which His father sent Him to earth for. The purpose of redemption, the purpose of salvation, purpose of eternal life, forgiveness, victory over death.

What was the result of the consequences of a man pleaser and a God pleaser?Pilate, the man pleaser remained guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ the God pleaser washed us of all guilt and unrighteousness and is now seated at the right hand of His father and waiting with open arms to welcome all those who acknowledge Him alone as the Lord and King of their lives. He is waiting to welcome all those who have not washed off their hands upon hearing the gospel.

Friends, Pilate knew Jesus, but He did not accept Him as the Lord of his life.Many people have heard of Jesus, they know who He is, they have tasted his goodness, his forgiveness, his unconditional love for them-But the question is: Do they acknowledge Him as the Lord of their life?

Friends Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in (John 4:10) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. He is the giver of the living waters.what are you going to do today with the living water that God has placed before you and me?



Pilate was face to face with the giver of the living waters-Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What did he do with Him? he just washed off his hands leaving the guilt on his own hands.


When you are battling a tough situation in your life, don't just wash your hands off it by pushing the blame on someone else, may be your spouse, maybe your boss, maybe your sibling, maybe your friends, maybe your parents.


Washing your hands off a situation only gives you a false sense of peace, a momentary relief, but you will carry on the guilt for the rest of your life.



Who are you like today? Are you picturizing yourself as Pilate or are you having a servant heart like Jesus?



Let us therefore introspect our lives today and accept this living water into our lives, our problems, our circumstances, our thoughts.



Let Him flow in your life, so that you may not thirst anymore for anything.



Be Blessed and be a blessing

Running the race (Hebrews 12:1)

(Hebrews 12:1) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (KJV)

We are compassed with so great a cloud of witnesses. Who are these witnesses? The witnesses are all the heroes of faith described in Hebrews 11 starting from God who created the entire universe to the heroes of faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and all the prophets.

How did they all become the heroes of faith? They have certainly endured something, and have run the race of faith that God has placed before them.

How many of us are into athletics? I am not but I sure do enjoy seeing athletes compete in a race that is set before them. The word of God clearly tells us that we need to lay aside two things before we can run the race.

What are the two things?

• Lay aside every weight


• Lay aside every sin

An athlete must be completely prepared to run the race, a warrior must be totally fit to fight the battle. They need to lay aside every weight. They need to be fit to run the physical race. What weight are you carrying today that is hindering you from running the spiritual race? We need to shed the excess weight- weight of bad friendships, weight of unhealthy activities, weight of your secret sins like your addictions of sexual sins, pornography,alchol, smoking, etc.

Friends, you might think no one is watching you. You can do anything you like on this earth; But God is watching you. He is an omniscient God, omnipresent and omnipotent God. You cannot escape from his radar.

The excess weight slows you down to reach your target. You need to work out to shed off the excess weight. We can shed of the excess weight by reading God's word, by praying regularly- not when we feel like.

Christian life involves hard work. It requires us to give up whatever endangers our relationship with God. We need to struggle against sin with the power of the Holy Spirit.

We need to run the race with patience the race that the Lord has set before us.Do not quit. If you decide to quit, He will lovingly discipline you until you're willing to obey, just as He did with Jonah. If you persist in rebellion, He may put you on the shelf and label you "disqualified" I Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

How can we run this race? We can run the race not by our strength, not by our qualifications (spiritual, physical and intellectual), not by our achievements. We can run the race only when we keep our eyes on Jesus- The author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus endured the cross just to have the joy that was set before Him. What was His joy? His joy is you and I. He rejoices over you and I, when we give our life to him, when we absolutely surrender ourselves to His will. Just because He endured the cross, he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

If we endure the race that is set before us, we will receive a prize. What is the prize? It is the crown of righteousness. (2 Timoth 4:8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Do you want that crown? I do. For all that I have endured, I really need that crown.

Let us therefore forget what is behind and press on towards the goal to win the prize. (Philippians 3:13, 14)Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

We therefore have to keep our eyes on Jesus and press on, we will stumble if we look at our past failures, our mistakes, our surroundings, our circumstances that weigh us down. We need to run the race for Jesus not for ourselves.

If we run the race for ourselves, we cannot award ourselves. Someone has to be the cheer leader to crown us with the prize. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our cheer leader. He is looking at you running this race. He will be with you while you run this race with endurance.

The race might be a rough marriage, a job situation, a relational issue, your health, finances-whatever it may be. Have faith in God.

Don't lose sight of the big picture. Our faith heroes have already endured this race and have won the crown of righteousness. Are we with them or are we with the world that weighs us down?

Let us intimately introspect ourselves-what sin is weighing you down today? what friendships do you need to keep aside, what addiction do you need to let go to run the race?

In conclusion I would like to end with this song: I have decided to follow Jesus;I have decided to follow Jesus;I have decided to follow Jesus;No turning back, no turning back.

Don't turn back- Look ahead and keep going, I am with you in the race, will you join me today?

Be blessed and be a blessing.

What are you thinking about today?

Php 4:8 Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things.
Php 4:9 Do those things which you have also learned and received and heard and seen in me. And the God of peace shall be with you.

After reading the above two verses, how many of us can put our hands on our hearts and sigh to ourselves in relief that we are having all the qualities that I have highlighted in the above verse 8? Do we have at least one quality that is mentioned? But many times we look and search for people with all the above qualities to be our friends or spouses. Truth, honesty, righteousness, purity, and the list goes on and on.

In this day and age it is very difficult to find anyone with all the best qualities. But the word of God clearly tells us that we need to think about the things are positively correct about a person who might be hurting us today. Is it your spouse, friend, boss or child? Who do you think is ruining your peace today?
The person who is hurting you might not be the best person you are with today. You are not perfect either. But I am sure there is one good quality from the above verse your spouse/friend/boss or child might have. Think on those things.

As you go further down to verse 9, Jesus is commanding us to “DO” the things which we have learned, received, heard and seen in Him. He is the one and only perfect God. No one is perfect. All have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. No one is righteous except our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life” Jesus is the truth, He is a pure and just God, a righteous God and He is the Perfect God.

Jesus is commanding us to “DO” all the things we have seen in Him, learned through Him, received through Him and heard from Him. Remember the famous NIKE slogan? “JUST DO IT” Yes, let that ring in your minds today. Just DO IT. Do all that the Lord has commanded us to do.
Live in truth, purity, honesty, righteousness, love and think of things that are of good report, vitreous things and praise worthy things.

Instead of picking on the negative side or faults of the person who is hurting you today, instead of thinking of the bad situation or problem that you are in, think about the positive side of that person. Think about the positive side of the problem. Always remember “Morning is just around the corner” There is no crown without the cross.
When you do all the things that the LORD has taught us, that is when the God of peace will be with you.

Every one of us desires peace. How many of us pray everyday for peace? Even King David in Psalms 109:1 is praying out to the Lord “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise”. How sweet! Hold not thy peace. What a prayer? Are you praying that prayer today? Is there a veil of sin between you and God today? Are you not doing what the Lord has commanded you to “DO” Just DO IT and the God of peace will be with you.

Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee Isaiah 26:3 who is on your mind right at this moment? Is it on God? Or is it on the problem you are facing at this moment? When our mind is stayed on God, we will have perfect peace. Peace that is complete not little peace, but complete, perfect peace will be ours today.

Philippians 4:7 and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I Corinthians 14:33 But God is not the author of confusion but of peace.

How nice to know this author personally. Are you confused today about a major decision you are trying to make? Trust in this author, embrace this author, invite this author our Lord and Jesus Christ into your heart and mind today and He will give you peace, direction and perfect peace.

2 Corinthians 13:11 tells us to be perfect, be of comfort, be of one mind, live in peace. When we do all the above with our friends, spouses comforting each other keeping all our pride and ego’s aside, when we are in sync with each other in oneness of mind, spirit and body, when we live in peace, the God of Peace will be with us.

When we have peace, we sleep better. Don’t we? Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. For thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety. No one else can make you dwell in safety other than the Lord.

Friends, start your day with the Lord, live the life He lived, love the people around you with the love of Jesus, begin doing the things that the Lord commanded us to do and end your day with the Lord and see to yourself how much peace you will start experiencing in your life.
Colossians 3:5 and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

What a mighty God we serve. Let our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who is the one and only prince of peace rule your hearts and minds today and grant you perfect peace.

For thy maker is thy husband

I Corinthians 3:23

And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s

How many of us long for love, acceptance and have a secure sense of belonging with someone we love dearly? How many of us are feeling that deep sense of hurt, rejection, emptiness and lonliness? How many of us are married yet lonely? How many of us feel we go to bed all alone, wake up all alone, eat all alone go about the rest of our day all alone?

The above verse should make you feel so good about yourself today. Did you ever think and realize how much God loves you and He owns you and that you belong to none other than the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? And you are Christ’s. How many times did you read in the news that a man gave his life for his wife? How many times did you read/ hear the news that a man has taken the life of his wife? Many times, several times in a day we hear and read about sad stories like this. There is only one husband who gave His life for His wife that is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 54:5 says it all. For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name.
It is only the Lord who can give His life for us because He is the most loving, sacrificial God. He loves us unconditionally with nada, zero expectations. How sweet!!

God wants to own you today; He is so clearly telling us through His word that we are His and His alone. Romans14:8 for whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

What a glorious statement! Jesus is possessive of us. He is obsessed with us. We belong to him either through life or death. We are related to our earthly husbands only through life.
But we are related to God either through life or death.

Romans 14:9 Christ both died and rose and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living. We therefore belong to God either through life here on earth or death Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. What a promise! We are the chosen children of God, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. How many of us want to have a joint account with God? Here it is. A joint-account with God.
Romans 8:18 the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
So let us be rest assured that we belong to the LORD and only to Him. Jesus Christ reconciled us with God. Let us therefore live for God in everything that we do on this earth.

Remember that you are His precious possession, His pride, His joy and His treasure. No matter if your spouse feels that way about you or not, you are God’s treasure.

You are God’s possession and a righteous crown will be waiting for you in heaven and God will embrace you with open arms when you see Him face to face.
Oh! I can’t wait for that aha moment.

So cheer up! Put on a happy smile today, and continue to love your earthly husband no matter what because your reward is with the Lord. We belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God that means we belong to God the father ultimately.

I love you so much and hope this devotion has touched your heart. I love you with the love of the LORD.
Praise be to God who called us to be women of courage, faith and love.