November 26, 2024

Unswerving Hope

December 2, 2013 by

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Each week during the season of Advent  our blogs will focus on a central theme associated with the coming of Christ—His Advent.  This week’s theme is HOPE.
Christians throughout the world celebrate Advent. Some light candles or sing songs; some give gifts or  hang wreaths.  All of these are simple joyous ways of extending the celebration of Jesus’s coming beyond a mere 24 hours on December 25. Our prayer is that these devotionals throughout this season of Advent would help you to celebrate His first Coming and anticipate with joy His second Coming.

*   – – – – – – – – – – – – –   *

Hebrew 10:23 NIV

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful.

Who is this Who is faithful that we should put all our hope on?  And what is hope?!?

Hebrew 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things (HOPED) for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hope comes when you are at zero (0) and you want to be at one (1).  How to get to one…you just don’t know how.  It is all dependent on an external force, an external factor to propel you to get to one (1).

In this world we hope for so many things and many of these depend on others.  As we have seen the scripture on Hebrew 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, things that we would want to have!  Things we desire to own, but, as much as we desire things of this world and hope (believing) of owning them one day…let us also hope for an eternal life that is given by accepting Christ Jesus which is better and of much greater value.

When we hope for the better, rest assured that the Faithful One will make it a point we have it. God is the One who is Faithful.  He fulfils all His promises to us and therefore we “… hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised….)”

Psalm 119:74

They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

Testimonies follow when we hope in the Lord, and others will see His providing for us.

Psalm 130:5

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

Let us acknowledge God as our own Father and approach him as a father;  you will never regret the way your hopes are being answered.  God is our hope. He is our everything and in all things we praise Him.

* * * * *

Father, we put our trust in You, and give our all to the glory of your Holy name.  AMEN!!!

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Praise Heart

November 28, 2013 by

We cannot praise God if we don’t know Him personally. It takes our relationship with Him for us to adore and admire His good works over our lives.

I stand in awe of Him because I personally know who He is to me and what He has done. He is so great, and so worthy to be praised. It is only when I realized this when I will truly worship, praise and admire and appreciate His works over my life.

For You are awesome God of Nations,
Lion of Judah, Rock of Ages, Alpha, Omega
You are worthy of all praise
More that these hands I’ll raise
I’ll live a life of praise!

from Life of Praise ~ Casting Crowns

When I say, “You are awesome!” it means I have run short of words— He is so wonderful! When I say, “Lion of Judah” it means I know He is reigning over every situation. Think of a lion the way it roars and what do other animals do when the lion is near? They flee for life. How about this Lion of Judah? At His name every knee will bow.

Lets just look at what He has done?  Read through this praise-filled psalm, Psalm 103.  He has done great and mighty things; looking from the time we were born to now; and the greatest thing of sending Christ to die on our behalf for us to have eternal life…don’t I have to jump with praise and live a life of praise?

What else do I want when I know He is worth it. He created me to praise Him again and again…He is mighty, awesome, excellent, great in battle!

There is a song I have composed (of course, have not taken to the studios yet!)…part of the lyrics says:

Adonai, I worship You today
El Shaddai, I worship You today
You are worthy of the praise
You are worthy of the glory
Adonai, I worship You today

And when I sing this song I feel His presence near me. Remember when our praises go up high to Him, His glory comes down and this song gets me closer to His throne.

It is the same with you, praise can be done anytime as long as you know Who you are praising, what He has done, and things He is yet to do—for they are awesome. Nothing compares to Him; hence He is the Alpha and Omega (He’s the beginning AND the end.)
He is our Rock of ages—solid rock. All other grounds are sinking sand hence us praising Him for He is the solid one never shaken even when the storm rages and it is because He is in me and I am in Him I don’t fear no storms and I am covered under this Rock. The Rock Who is Christ Jesus and this means if devil wants to attack he should start with the shelter (who is Christ) then come to me otherwise I am under maximum protection—hence my praise.

Father, I praise You and worship You for You are the great I AM!  In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN!!!

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Where God Camps

November 15, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

O come, Let us sing to the Lord, Let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation!
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalms 95:1-3

This psalm calls us to make sure that our worship and praise are accompanied by hearts that are obedient to the Lord.

But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3

Through praise we experience more fully God’s Presence…both within us and at work all around us.  The Scriptures tell us that God dwells in the praises of His people.  He is the Holy God that inhabits the praises of Israel.

The image painted by the psalmist in Psalm 22 is that God sits down and takes delight in the praises offered to His name. God pitches His tent wherever His name is exalted. He camps out with those who acknowledge, glorify and desire His presence.

If you are struggling with pain, sickness or loss and are desperate for a sense of God’s nearness, then start praising His holy name. Cling to God in praise of His love, His protection and His faithfulness. You need Him to set up camp amid your weakness and fear and suffering.

The simple fact of God’s Presence is this: Where God dwells, God rules. He is our authority. When we invite God to dwell in us, He reigns over our hearts. When we invite God to exert His will and presence in our business, He reigns over our business.
Praise is our foremost means of inviting God to take up His residence within us and to establish His Presence, authority and purpose in every are of our lives. As we praise our Lord, we enjoy the warmest, deepest form of fellowship with our heavenly Father. No matter what you are facing, I encourage you to praise Him now.

Praise has a strong emotional dimension. As we see in this psalm, it is not driven by emotions. Praise is driven by our will. That is why we must never say “I prefer to wait and praise God when I really feel like it.” We are to praise God for He is the great God and the great King above all gods.

* * * * *

Father, we praise You, honor You for You are a great God. You are the King of kings and the Lords of lords and there is none like You. We give You all the praise for Your unfailing love towards us and Your mercies that endure forever and Your goodness that follows us all the days of our lives. It is because of Your love that we give You thanks for the work on the Cross at Calvary. Let us choose to praise and worship You always so that You inhabit in our midst. In Jesus name we have prayed.  AMEN!

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Forgiveness

November 6, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity
and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit).
Psalms 32:1-2

The only true and happy people are those who have received forgiveness of their sins from God, so that the guilt of their transgressions does not weigh upon their hearts and minds and their consciences are no longer troubled.  Such blessedness is open to all sinners who come to the Lord.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”  As long as we come to Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, He will forgive our sins/transgressions and we will be at rest; for then we will have learned of Him.

The psalmist describes God’s forgiveness in three ways here in verses 1 and 2:

  • He forgives the sin (that is, to pardon it); we also know that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins…” (1 John 1:9).
  • He covers the sin (that is putting it out of sight); we are told that “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1).
  • The sin is not counted against him (that is God does not impute the iniquity, or, the guilt is concealed from the record). We know from the Scriptures that “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4:6-8)

Forgiveness comes when we ourselves come to a point of acknowledging that we have come up short of the glory of God and we confess sin with an honest, sincere, and repentant heart.  This will always result in God’s gracious pardon, the removal of guilt, and the gift of His abiding Presence.

God treats sincerely repentant sinners as righteous not because righteousness is something they earn through works but rather they receive as a gift when they confess their sins and believe in the Lord.

In my previous blogs I shared how we gain righteousness. And I wrote, “When Jesus Christ died He saved us when He rose from the dead; He made us righteous through Him. So righteousness is not a thing that we attain by working tirelessly to earn it.”  It was imputed (freely given) to us by God through the resurrection of Christ Jesus.

* * * * *

Father, we come to You with our sincere and honest hearts seeking Your forgiveness in all our transgressions and sins.  May we walk in Your truth for righteousness’ sake.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.

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Divine Protection

October 28, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.
He only is my Rock and my Salvation;
He is my Defense; I shall not be greatly moved…
Psalm 62: 1-2

Let me take you back to Exodus 33….

It came to pass when Moses entered went out into the tabernacle
the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle
and the Lord talked with Moses.
Verse 9 KJV

(I strongly urge you to read through the conversation between God and Moses). My concentration is on THE ROCK and SALVATION.  What is the type of Rock and Salvation being talked here?  If we combine Psalm 62 and Exodus 33, it equals Isaiah 53.

In Exodus 33 God was telling Moses that He would put Moses under a cleft (the back and the sides of the hands but the front God will cover with the arm). Let us imagine—how big is the arm of God?  Who is this Arm?  Isaiah 53 explains the Arm of God…it is JESUS.

So as long as we are in Christ Jesus we will be covered.  He is the solid Rock—nothing can harm us.  We are protected. He is our salvation.  He died for our sins only to be served when He rose again for it was for our righteousness.  Death alone was for our salvation; if He had not risen, then there would have been no righteousness being imputed for us.  He rose for our righteousness.  We should count ourselves blessed for the Blood that was shed was for our good.  We should be thanking God for His love for us. Today we walk freely for Someone paid the price and saved us; and we are defended at all angles.

Look back and think how many times we can say the Rock covered us. I see many prayer requests (and praises thereafter) in the GCH Fellowship group.  Who takes us through those times?  It is this Arm and Rock!  Let us embrace this Arm with all our hearts.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but only through Him.  That is why in Exodus 33 when Moses was insisting that he wanted to see God face to face, God told him that he could not see God; that He would put Moses in a Rock (Jesus) and cover him with His Arm (same Jesus) and that He would pass by Moses and he would only see God’s back. God was protecting Moses since once Moses had seen His face he could have died for no one has ever seen the face of God.  That is why God said to Moses “you will be covered by the rock at your back and in front there will be my arm.”  We are at liberty to interact with Jesus for Him to cover and protect us completely and all around — 360 degrees.

* * * * *

Father God, we thank You for Your goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives. We appreciate Your presence in our lives—the Rock and the Arm that saved us from all un-righteousness.  In Jesus name, I pray. Amen

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Walking Fear Free

October 21, 2013 by

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The Lord is with me I will not be afraid what can man do to me?
The Lord is with me He is my Helper I will look in triumph on my enemies.
Psalms 118: 6-7

So numerous are the types of fear that assail us that volumes would have to be written to name them.  Daily we are subject to feelings and emotions that are both positive and negative.  It is imperative that a fear in our life be acknowledged and dealt with.  If not, no matter how diligently we endeavor to walk with God, we will be troubled again and again by a concealed enemy at work in the soul.  But those who take refuge in the Lord are assured that He is with them to give help and strength.

In Joshua 1:9 the Bible says “Have I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  We have an assurance in the Lord that He will help us to triumph.  Trusting in the Lord is the surest thing we can have.  In Jeremiah 1:8 the Bible also says “Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah was only a youth at the time of his call; he experienced intense anxiety and fear at the awesome thought of speaking the Word of the Lord to the elders of Judah.

If you will surrender your life to Jesus Christ and live for Him; if you will take up your spiritual weapons and begin launching them against the fears that grip you; if you will persevere in faith, believing that the Spirit of God is working with you to bring freedom—you will discover fears leaving you and a whole new dimension of life opening before you.  You will indeed experience the reality of walking in fear free.

* * * * *

Father, we thank You,  we bless you, for You are the great God—the Great I AM.  We acknowledge Your love for us.  We embrace Your help to us whenever we face adversaries.  This is love that we can appreciate and sing praises for.  Be praised and be magnified, Lord!  In Jesus Name, I pray.

Amen

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Jesus Christ our Rock

October 15, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Unto Thee will I cry O Lord my Rock, be not silent to me,
lest if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Psalm 28:1

There is a song that we sing; one verse of the words are “Rock of Ages, cleft for me; Let me hide myself in Thee! Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flowed; Be of sin the double cure… save from wrath and make me pure.”

The composer of this song had a revelation that, on our own, we cannot hide from anything except that Christ Jesus is involved.   For us to be covered from all unrighteousness we need Christ to cover us up for He arose on the third day for our righteousness. When faced with challenges of this world let us not focus on the problem; rather be focused on Christ Who is our ever-present help in time of need.

We need to understand the following: the power—the rule—the principle of prioritization.

We need to understand the above types of prioritization.  Since without understanding them we will perish for we will walk without direction. Exodus 33:15 says “…and he said unto Him, if Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”

Moses understood the power/rule/principle of prioritizing. What is it that we prioritize in this day to day life? The Bible says “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all the things shall be added unto you.” This is part of prioritizing. Since Christ is our Rock, let us not make Him redundant or declare Him redundant when we lose focus ourselves.  We are not seeking His face so that all things should be added to us.  We need to invite Him into  all aspects of our lives. Be it at our workplace, be it at school, etc.  If we focus on Him as a Rock where we can hide ourselves, we will excel in this life since He will not remain silent when we cry to Him.  He will hear and open the flood gates of heaven.  He will open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that we will have not enough room to contain it.

Christ in us is the Hope of glory; hence He is the Rock of Ages.

* * * * *

Father, we thank You for You are our Rock where You hide us when we call.  All our attitudes are hidden in You, our unrighteousness is hidden in You just because of Your love which is unconditional.  May Your name be glorified and be magnified!   In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen!!

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Hunger and Thirst for God

September 30, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

O God, thou art my God early will I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth for Thee,
My flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.
To see Thy power and Thy glory so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
Psalms 63:1-2

This psalm is describing a man’s deep longing in his heart for God.  Every believer should pray as David did in this psalm.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalms 42:2

As water is essential for physical life, so God and His presence are essential for satisfaction and wholeness of life.  True believers will hunger and thirst for God and His grace, blessings, and supernatural activity in their lives.  To stop thirsting for God is to die spiritually; thus we must not allow anything to diminish our intense desire for the things of God.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).  The Lord we serve will supply our needs according to His riches in His glory.  When we show ourselves to have a willing heart to interact with Him, we need to seek Him where He may be found.

Do we know God?  Have we come to a point of being passionate for Him?  Those who profess to know God must examine themselves by asking themselves the following: “Do I really possess a strong desire for God and His Presence in my life? Or do I go through life largely consumed with secular pursuits and worldly entertainment, while prayer, bible reading, and a deep hunger and thirst for God and His righteousness have little place?”

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6

The foundational requirement for all godly living is to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  The spiritual condition of a Christian all throughout their lives will depend on their hunger and thirst for the Presence of God…the Word of God…communion with Christ…fellowship of the Spirit.

It is essential that we be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s convicting work in our lives.

Righteousness—our righteousness—is Christ Jesus Himself living in our hearts. Through this indwelling we might become “…the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  We must hunger and thirst for the things of God and not of this world.

* * * * *

Father, we come before You giving You all the praise and honor for this good day that You have given unto us.  May You reign over our lives so that we can reign with Christ Jesus.  May You increase our thirst to study Your Word and know You more than now.  Let us embrace the gift of righteousness with gladness!  In Jesus’ name I have prayed.

Amen!!

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God’s Mercy

September 18, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psalms 103:13 and 14

God shows mercy to those who truly fear Him.  The fear of the Lord is a redeeming fear that motivates us to turn away from evil, to keep God’s precepts, and to seek the Lord’s nearness and grace.

The blessings God gives to those who fear Him are His Mercy, Love and Forgiveness.

Mercy
Psalm 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Luke 7:12-14  Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

Love
John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Song of Solomon 2:4  He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love.

Forgiveness
Isaiah 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

God has compassion on His children because He knows their weaknesses and infirmities. Even the best of His followers stand in need of His compassion. As a father has deep compassion for his children when they fail, suffer or are mistreated, so also our heavenly Father hurts when His own are hurting.  Hence the Bible says “I will bless those who bless you and will curse those who curse you” (Genesis 12:3) all because of His compassion on His very own.  The Bible even talks of fighting with those that fight us.  We are His children.

In the midst of trouble, failure, and struggle we must not think that God is aloof  or uncaring, rather we must remember that His eyes look on us with compassion and He will help us according to our need.  He promised that when we call unto Him He will answer us and show us great and mighty things we know not (Jeremiah 33:3).

He is so wonderful that we can rely and believe in His word which is true.

* * * * *

Heavenly Father, we worship You today!  You are worthy of our praise!  You alone are holy and mighty; and great are You, Lord!  Thank You for Your mercy, love, and forgiveness.  We adore You, Lord!  In Jesus name we have prayed.

Amen!

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God is Trustworthy

September 9, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1

Sometimes we are so impatient.  We want everything yesterday!  But we fail to wait upon the Lord when we demand that everything happen when we want it to happen and in our appointed time.   Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  God’s timing is always perfect.  He is never late, and He is never early.  He may not act according to our schedule, but He is always right on time.

We should not be mad at God when things are not going our way.  Rather we should be delighted in Him always. We delight in the Lord by spending time with Him on a daily basis despite the problems we are facing—by reading the Word; by praying in the Holy Spirit; by building ourselves up “on our most holy faith” (Jude 20); and by speaking in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19).  The nearer we draw to God, the bigger He becomes in our sight.  And the bigger God becomes to us, the smaller our problems in this world seem.

God is trustworthy to take care of all our anxieties. We have to patiently wait and rely on Him. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”  Many Christians try to be self-sufficient.  When they have a problem, they try to figure their own way out.  For example, if they need finances, they think of family members or friends they can borrow money from.  But instead of trusting in our own strength and wisdom, we should rely upon God…and trust Him to solve our problems.

Draw near to God and rely on Him for your strength.  Rely on the Spirit of God within you.  The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Romans 8:11).  He will quicken your mortal body, give you wisdom, bring you peace, comfort you in times of trouble, and help you in every situation!

God listens to our prayers always.  Even at times when we pray not according to His will, He still hears and answers us—in a way He feels is best  for us at that time.

If we patiently wait upon Him we will:

  • sail through no matter how deep or dark the situation is; God can turn it around
  • be lifted up and be established
  • come to a place of confidence and security

* * * * *

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for You are a caring, trustworthy, loving Father.  You take care of our hearts—however we may have wronged You by doing things our own way before coming to You.  Please forgive us and restore unto us the joy of our salvation.  Thank You for who You are in our lives.  In Jesus name we have prayed.

Amen!

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