Crown of Glory

Isaiah 62:3 - "You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God."

“Crown” is given to those who had won an athletic contest, the crown given to a soldier for valour in combat, or the crown worn by a king. In any case, it rewarded an extraordinary achievement. However, even though our salvation is a gift we do not earn, our God not only promises eternal life to those who follow His Son, He promises many extra rewards to those who obey Him. Jesus promised that those who would leave everything to follow Him would receive a hundredfold reward in addition to eternal life (Mark 10:29–31).

Though we must not forget that we do not earn our salvation, this verse shows that God’s faithful servants can expect a reward. When we, whether or not we are ordained elders, faithfully care for those under our authority, we can expect to receive an unfading crown of glory. He promises His faithful servants rewards for their obedience.

Let's ask the Lord to help us live in gratitude for these blessings and use them to glorify Him. As the word of God says “When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4).

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Presence of God

Psalms 16:11 - "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

God's presence provides comfort in times of trouble (or anxiety) and when we seek Him we find encouragement and strength to praise Him. Knowing God is present will keep our behaviour respectful and humble, for God hears our every word and holds us accountable. He will not tolerate pride, and will bring our speech under his judgment. However, He will exalt those who humble themselves before Him.

God also displayed His presence as a place of worship. The Bible describes heaven as a place filled with God's presence. Angels stand in God's presence and act on His authority as He directs them. Christ completed His earthly ministry by entering "heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence".

God's presence is a place where prayer is heard. David sought the Lord's presence when Israel faced a three-year famine. We can approach the Lord with confidence because of Christ's finished work on our behalf. Furthermore, God promises to hear and forgive those who come into his presence with humble repentance.

And God's presence is also a place of blessing. David counted it a joy to experience the Lord's presence, and Peter described it as the source of blessing for all who place their faith in Christ. To experience God's presence is to experience the shining of God's face (Psalm 67:1) and He has promised to be with us until He comes again.

Let's strive to be in God's presence as this is the ultimate place of blessing, which will motivate us to be faithful in all that we do.

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Who Is Like Our God?

Psalms 113:-5-9 - "Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord."

The God of the Bible has no equal. He is eternal and has created all things. To what can He be compared? Actually, this question has already been asked in Scripture, by God Himself: “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25). The clear answer to this question echoes throughout Scripture: “Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You” (2 Samuel 7:22).

Yes, humans are made in the image or likeness of God, but that does not make us like (i.e., equal to) God. God is unique from every other being and thing because He alone is infinite and uncreated. We are finite, but the Lord has no beginning or end. Scripture states, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” - (Psalms 90:2)

David understood the greatness of God when he asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4). When we consider the incomparably awesome Creator God and the fact that He loves you and me, we should fall to our knees in humble worship.

Let's acknowledge our position of utter dependence on the great I AM for there is no God like our God.

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

God Is My Help - Our Only Source

Psalms 54:4 – “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me”

Today we might be facing a situation or going through a time where everything seems to be working against us. A condition where our knowledge, ability, and strength ceases and the only option that we have is to surrender to the circumstances.

This is the time that we need to lift our voices to God who not only hears us but also knows and understands our condition better and He has the answer/solution for what we are facing right now.

And many times during these challenging times we tend to focus more on the circumstances than the solution provider, we try to find solution through the created things than the Creator Himself - "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." - Psalms 121:1-2

God is our help and He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than what we can ever ask or imagine/even think of. He can turn the tables around, turn the situation favorable to us and keep us safe because of His loving kindness and tender mercies.

So let’s reach out to Him and ask Him to intervene into our lives today and lets' completely believe that our help comes from God and God alone.

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

The Trust Factor

Psalms 37:5 - "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."

Trusting God is simply believing that He loves you, He’s good, He has the power to help you, He wants to help you, and He will help you. Christians are called believers, but many times, we are more like unbelieving believers. We trust our friends, the bank, the stock market or the government more than we trust God and His Word.

In John 15:5, Jesus says that apart from Him, we can do nothing. We need to lean on Him for help with everything in our lives.

Sometimes we do get what you want, only to discover that it doesn't make us happy after all, just disillusioned. Many of us repeat this cycle our entire life, wondering what we're doing wrong and we should know.

The Secret is in the 'Doing' - A spiritual secret exists that can free us from this cycle: Trusting God.

The secret lies in putting this truth into practice, by making it such a powerful theme in our life that we view every event, every sorrow, every prayer with the unshakable conviction that God is totally, spotlessly trustworthy.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Life is simple and peaceful when we come to God like little children and say, “God, I don’t want to live on my own. I want to trust You. When I don’t know what to do, I’ll trust You. When I don’t understand why, I’ll trust You. I’ll do my part with Your help, and when I’m done, I’ll trust You to do the rest.”

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Armour of God

Ephesians 6:10-18 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

The full armour of God is our spiritual defense against attacks of Satan. The armor of God is a call for action we need to take in our spiritual lives. Paul sets the stage for us that we are fighting a war, and the stakes are higher than they have ever been in human history.

Who's our enemy? Not flesh and blood, no human foe—we fight against a much more fearsome opponent, our adversary, Satan the devil, and his host of demons have a single, driving purpose: to steal, kill and destroy the children of God.

Faced with the cares of this world, we can easily forget about the severity of this battle. But make no mistake: Our spiritual lives and future in God's Kingdom are on the line. If we lose this war, we lose everything. What can we do in the face of such overwhelming odds? Is there any hope?

Paul has the answer. In V.13, he gives the call to arms. By putting on all of God's armour we can be assured of withstanding our enemy's onslaughts.

Let's put on the armor and strength of God to effectively wage war against our enemy, the devil. Without it, we are helpless—but with it, we are soldiers of the living God, and "more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

The New Life

Ephesians 4:21-24 - "Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

What does New Life mean to us? In v.17 Paul writes that we should no longer walk like the worldly people who doesn't have a stable (clear) mind and who practice all kinds of impurity and goes after every filthiness that is there in they world, the people whose hear is hardened and no longer sensitive to the Holy Spirit. God wants us to keep away from such practices and people. (1 Peter 2:9-10) says that -  "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

And Paul says in Romans 6:6 that - "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."

How are we supposed to live this New Life? The answer is in (2 Timothy 2:22-25) - "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth."

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Great Things

Psalms 126:3 - "The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad."

Are we grateful to God for the great things that He as done for us? Many a times we ignore the blessings of God over our life, sometimes it may not be very significant to the outside world but has greatly impacted (changed) our lives. As a child of God we need to be thankful to God for being good to us and sparing our lives. - "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:8) 

Wouldn’t it be a blessing to have all that we have lost…restored….beyond what we had before? To be able to laugh and sing songs of joy in community and have all those around us point to God and give Him the honor and glory for what He has done in our lives? That would be amazing! "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:17)

It reminds me that we have a big, big God and that He is not limited by our small thinking. God is in the business of doing way more than we can even dream. "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Fear of The Lord

Psalms 128:1-2 - "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you."

Blessed is everyone whose walk is blameless before God and men. God wants us to walk the talk and in order to receive His blessing over our lives we must walk in His light and do the right thing in the sight of God and men. Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature. That's why hearing someone is God-fearing actually makes us trust that person more. If they fear God, they are more likely to keep their word and treat others with kindness.

Unfortunately, many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world …. When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal …. As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion.

And, of course, the ultimate example of fear and perfect love working together is Jesus Christ. He warned us at every turn to fear God, not men—and he confirmed that in everything about his life and death. He spoke lovingly but frankly to all and didn't mince words when people needed to face their sin and repent. But he also demonstrated love beyond human understanding when he lived out his words, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends (John 15:13)." With love like that, what is left to fear but God?

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Believing God

Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Christian life is a life of hope, faith and belief. Therefore Jesus said in V.23 - "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him."

When our belief is strong and accompanied with our prayer of faith then we can really see/receive the answers to our prayers. The Bible tells us that we are not just to pray, but rather to pray believing. If we are specifically told to believe when we pray, then it must be possible to pray and not believe. Not all prayer brings results. Only believing prayer moves God and receives from Him.Believing takes the emphasis off of prayer itself, and puts the emphasis entirely on God Himself. It is all about Him and His faithfulness. The Bible does not teach us to rely on prayer alone. It teaches us to rely on Him. Only when we can fully rely on Him can we fully pray believing. We are to believe Him first, and then express that belief in prayer. The faith must be in the heart before the prayer comes out of the mouth.

Let's believe and trust God that He will answer our prayers today - "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - (Mathew 21:22)

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

Taming Our Tongue

Psalms 120:2-4 - "Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior's sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!"

There are many scriptures in the bible about lying lips and deceitful tongue, being the one of smallest part of the body it has the potential to cause greatest damage to our lives if not in control. "For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." - (James 3:2-10)

The bible says that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." - (Proverbs 18:21) The words that comes out of our mouth can either build someone or destroy relationships and we need to be very careful about what we say because we cannot take back the words that we have spoken, so"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." - (Ephesians 4:29)

Let's ask the Holy Spirit to guard our mouth and keep it from all evil - "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! - (Psalms 141:3)

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus

God My Helper

Psalms 119:173 - "Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts."

We serve a God who is always ready to help those who are in need and those who call upon Him in distress. He is an Everlasting and Ever-loving God who loves to help us when we get into trouble, therefore we need not be discouraged for He has said - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

However, for Him to intervene and solve our problems, we need to keep our lives away from all kinds of evil and our character needs to be clean to receive His blessings - "Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!]" (Hebrews 13:5-6 AMP)

Let's be encouraged this morning as we diligently follow His percepts in our lives, He is always ready to help us and there is nothing too hard or difficult for Him, for He can make impossible things possible for us.

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus  

Divine Guidance (Part 2)

Psalms 73:24 - "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory."

How are we to work our way in strange lands, if left entirely to our own resources?

Hence the Lord is called the guide of his people. We are in a foreign land, a land of pits and snares and without a good guide, we will be sure to fall into the one, or be caught in the other. "This God is our God, for ever and ever," saith the psalmist; and not only so, but he condescends to "be our guide, and will be, even unto death" (Psalms 48:14).

God still works with us: he does not only give grace, but actual help in the work of obedience: "He worketh all our works in us," (Isaiah 26:12). His actual help is necessary to direct, quicken, strengthen, protect and defend us. In our way to heaven, we need not only a rule and path, but a guide. The rule is the law of God; but the guide is the Spirit of God.

After all our toil in labour and duty, after all our crosses and afflictions, after all our doubts and fears that we should never receive it; after all the hiding of His face, and clouds and darkness that have passed over us; and after all our battles and fightings for it....Surely His reward will come in at the right time (season).

For God says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." (Psalms 32:8)

Have A Blessed Day!

God Bless

Every Day With Jesus