Abiding TV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

— Psalm 118:24

Enjoying the abundant life Jesus died to give you is based on a decision you make, not on your circumstances. Thankfully, you can decide to be happy right where you are and to enjoy the life you have right now on the way to where you are going. You can make a firm decision to enjoy your journey.

You can begin by saying out loud, “I am going to enjoy my life.” Until you get that thought established in your mind, every morning when you wake up, before you even get out of bed, I encourage you to declare out loud, “I am going to enjoy this day! I am seizing the day! I am taking authority over Satan—the joy thief—even before he tries to come against me. I have made up my mind that I am going to keep my joy today!”

Having a right mind-set always helps in every situation.

Prayer Starter: I thank You today, Father, that I can choose to live in the abundant life Jesus died to give me. I don’t have to live a miserable, unhappy life. I can choose to celebrate Your goodness and enjoy the life You have given me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Psalm 37:1-9

Scripture repeatedly admonishes us to trust in the Lord. When times are good, this doesn’t seem difficult. However, when trials arise, it is much harder to rely fully upon Him.

Yet it is always important for us to place our trust in the living God, especially when everything around us seems to be falling apart. This may well have been the situation that inspired the writing of Psalm 37.

In today’s passage, David mentions several times that we should not fret (vv. 1, 7, 8). Distress over a situation is the opposite of trust, and fretting has ill effects. For one thing, it can take a toll on physical and emotional well-being. Another problem is that feeding worry can lead to wrongdoing. And by attempting to resolve the situation quickly in our human way, we may miss God’s best solution. Yet another consequence is that our angst may undermine our witness for the kingdom because we will not be reflecting God’s peace in all that we do.

What, then, is the antidote for worry and stress during a difficult time? Absolute trust in Christ. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” This means we are to lay all our burdens at His feet, believing that He is good, loving, and in control.

When trials arise, do you run toward the Lord? Or do you try to handle things yourself? He who created you can handle any difficulty and pain, even when it seems overwhelming. What He desires is your surrender and trust. It is in His arms that you will find rest for your soul.

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 19-21

1 John 5:14
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us

Jesus created quite a ruckus in the Temple after being hailed with a hero’s welcome when He arrived in Jerusalem. He drove out the money changers. He turned over their tables. He reprimanded them sharply. Afterwards, Matthew 21:14 tells us that the blind and the lame came to Him there in that holy place, and He healed them.

That seems fitting to us, the perfect place for Jesus to perform miracles. However, in Jerusalem, tradition dictated that the blind and lame – anyone who had a physical impairment – were not allowed to enter the Temple. Their imperfection denied them the right to be admitted to the very place where they could receive healing.

Jesus broke through the barriers, tore through the tradition to welcome the hurting. Can you imagine the crush of the crowd? Can you see their eager faces? Here, where they had only found rejection and resistance, Jesus reached out to heal blind eyes and lame limbs. Those who had never seen before received their sight. Those who had never walked went running and leaping and praising God. The Temple walls must have resounded with exuberant shouts. Tears of joy and gratitude must have wet their cheeks.

Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus reaching out in welcome:  sharing a meal with tax collectors, pulling a child onto His lap, touching a leper, plucking Peter out of the sea, taking a dead girl’s hand, smearing mud on a blind man’s eyes.  He welcomed their questions and their complications, their illnesses and infirmities.

He is still reaching, still welcoming. His arms are open. His eyes are smiling. No fear of rejection here. We can boldly approach the throne of grace with full confidence to obtain mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16). We are surrounded by the spiritually blind, those who have overlooked the important and cannot see what is needful. We are surrounded by the spiritually lame, those who may see what they need but are too hindered to get to it. We can bring them to the throne, too – with full confidence of acceptance and love.

Blessing:

Precious Jesus, thank You for breaking down the walls that stood between us. I am so grateful that Your arms are open, that Your hands are reaching, that Your heart is welcoming, that I am accepted in the Beloved. May I always extend that same welcome to others. In the name of Jesus…Amen.

Today's Bible Reading:

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23

New Testament

Luke 8:41-9:6

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 71:1-24

Proverbs 12:5-7

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV)

The Word of God is clear about not giving the devil any place in our lives. We open the door to this place of entrance when we allow anger and wrath to cause us to sin. Therefore, we are not to let a day go by without cleansing our hearts of all anger, irritation, and offense against anyone and everyone—no matter how mean or hurtful they may have been to us.

Perhaps you have experienced a hurt of some kind. The size of the hurt doesn’t matter; even the smallest stone of offence can become a stumbling block to your faith and the power of God flowing in your life. That is why it is so important that we learn to forgive.

Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:24-25 NKJV).

The Bible is clear here: your faith will not work when you fail to forgive and walk in love. What may begin as a little stone of offence can soon become a big stumbling block to the flow of the power of God.

So make the quality decision today to forgive, and then walk in love. Doing so will close the door on the devil and open the door for God to move in your life in new and exciting ways.

Confession: Holy Spirit, I ask You to search my heart and reveal to me any unforgiveness, anger, or resentment that I have not dealt with. I am determined to humble myself before you, to forgive, and to walk in love toward others. Thank You, Father, for forgiving me and giving me the grace and strength to in turn forgive others.

Author: Jerry Savelle

Hebrews 13:5

…He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

For six whole hours, the Son of God was suspended between heaven and earth. And at the height of His suffering on the cross, He cried out in the deep darkness, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:45–46).

For the first time, Jesus addressed His Father as “God.”

If the Father had not turned His back on His Son, He would have to turn His back on you today when you call out to Him in your hour of need. But because Jesus has taken your place, today, you take His place, and you have God’s face smiling on you always!

Right now, God’s face is smiling on you. His countenance is shining on you. I can stand before you and declare, “The Lord make His face shine upon you” (Numbers 6:25–26). And it is all because Jesus has paid the price for God to never leave you nor forsake you (see Hebrews 13:5).

As Judge, God turned His back on His Son. But as Father, He cried. His heart was broken because Christ was never more pleasing to Him than when He was on the cross. Christ’s suffering was a sweet-smelling aroma to the Father (see Ephesians 5:2).

Do you remember what Jesus said? “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again” (John 10:17). If you are a parent, you love each one of your children equally. But when one of them does something special for you out of love, it touches your heart, and you just want to run to him and hug him.

That was what happened at the cross, except that the Father could not embrace His Son. Instead, He had to turn His back on His Son because our sins had to be punished in His Son’s body.

Beloved, when you cry out to the Father for help today, know that He hears you and will surely help you. Because of Jesus, He will never turn His back on you!

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
He will make a way

"Fruitfulness & Sustainability" by Touré Roberts
"Fruitfulness & Sustainability" by Touré Roberts
"Fruitfulness & Sustainability" by Touré Roberts

If God is baby. It draws on what Jesus birth as a poor baby in Nazareth means for us. There are lessons there for us of humility, poverty of spirit, respect of other people's culture etc. You need to have a poverty of spirit as the magi to worship a baby. It takes faith to worship a baby, His light does not come to great men but to the humble.

Being in uncomfortable situations or circumstances is often a prerequisite for stepping into greatness.

In these seasons of growth, we learn how to respond to challenges with faith instead of fear.

Turning Point - Daily Sermon Radio
Dr David Jeremiah - March 29, 2019 | Don't Let Society Beguile You -

Understanding The Will Of God | Preacher: Ptr. Jhun Cunanan

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Knowing who you are in Christ is so vital; it’s a prerequisite to having the right attitude towards the challenges you might face in life, and living above circumstances. There’re many who aren’t enjoying the blessings of Christianity, because they don’t know who they are in Christ; they don’t understand who the Christian is. They think, for example, that a Christian is a religious person; someone who goes to church; no! He’s much more.

A Christian is someone in whom Christ dwells; someone in whom, and through whom, the Kingdom of God is manifested; a carrier of divinity. Once you come to terms with this reality, your life will take on a new meaning, and you’ll live joyfully every day, irrespective and independent of circumstances. This is why it’s so important that you understand God’s Word, what He says about you, and then live accordingly.

The Bible says Jesus wasn’t only delivered to death on account of your sins, He was also raised for your justification (Romans 4:25). What does it mean to be justified? It means to be declared “not guilty”; meaning that in the mind of justice, in the eyes of God, you never sinned; therefore, no charges against you.

Now you can further appreciate why the Bible says you’re holy, unblameable and unreproveable in the sight of God (Colossians 1:22). It’s because the Christian is a new creature: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

You’re a brand new species of being that never existed before; that’s why God can declare you acquitted, because there’s nothing to judge since you have a brand new life.

Your justification isn’t because Jesus “paid” for your sins; He did that for the whole world of sinners, but the Christian isn’t a sinner; he’s a new creation; a product, not of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, but of His resurrection! You came from the resurrection.

You’re the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, graced to reign and exercise dominion over Satan and circumstances. Hallelujah!

 CONFESSION
I walk in the light of my justification. My life is an expression of God’s righteousness; I’m the seed of Abraham; therefore, I live above lack, sickness, disease and defeat! I’m victorious all the way, serving the Lord joyously and gloriously, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

FURTHER STUDY:
1 John 5:4; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 Peter 2:9 AMPC

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Luke 8:22-39 & Joshua 5-6

2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Matthew 26:47-56 & Exodus 39