I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of John 1:12 “But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become, children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
From the above passage we learn that God gave the right to become the children of God, to all those who received His Son, Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. God the Father wants us to be His children. He says, I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings. But God feels sorry, that they often refused to receive Him as their Saviour. Just as a Father has compassion on His children so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him . This is the nature of a Father.
We see the role of a good father displayed in the parable of the “Prodigal Son.” When the prodigal son returned to his father we see the graciousness of the Father overshadowing the sinfulness of the son; as it is the memory of the Father’s goodness that brings the prodigal son back home. There are some who for their own selfish reason backslide and draw themselves away from the presence of God. When they go away from God, the devil attacks such people. They might be well educated Medical students or Engineers. But suddenly such students get caught up in depression. These students would have secured good score in their subjects, but suddenly they go into depression. This happens when one goes away from the Lord. Then the devil has an opportunity to take possession of such people. You should never give an opportunity for the devil to take possession of you. This is the moment you fall into sinful things and lose the glory of God.
Back sliding can cause disastrous consequences. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways. He may simply fall back through neglect by not praying, reading the Bible, and not keeping his focus on living for God, It can bring dishonour to the one who laid down His life for us (Jesus Christ.) But the Lord to such people gives an invitation saying, Return to Me with all your heart. In order to revive, the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. “Return backsliding Israel, says the Lord. And I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful” says, the Lord. The backslider in heart, will have his fill of his own way. But a good man obtains favour from the Lord.
God’s merciful purpose to His people is to revive and to restore. God calls us back to himself to be in fellowship. God demonstrated His love for us through the death of His son. Therefore, if anyone has gone away from the Lord , return back to Him, that He may heal you and bind you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. God is merciful with the merciful, and with a blameless man He will show Himself blameless. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Dear Lord help us to search our heart and see if we have backslidden. We pray for Your mercy. Forgive us of our sinful nature and cause us to reconcile with You. Help us to cherish your goodness rather than submit ourselves, to worldly pleasures. May we experience the glory of God in our lives.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Psalms 115:12, “ The Lord has been mindful of us, He will bless us, He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron.”
My dear Brothers and Sisters, from the above context we learn that God is mindful of the children of Israel. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both Small and Great. The Bible says, through this passage, that it is foolish to trust in dead images, rather to trust in the living God, Yahweh. He is a help and a shield to all those that trust in Him. Where there is fear of God, there may be faith in Him. Those who reverence His word rely upon it. He is ever found faithful. The greatest need is His blessings. And it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear Him. God’s Blessings give an increase, especially in spiritual blessings. And the Lord is to be praised. His goodness is large, for He has given the earth to the children of men for their use. The souls of the faithful keep praising God. Therefore let’s seek to do more for God. Let’s engage others to praise Him. For the Lord is the only object of faith and love.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, let us learn to praise the Lord, while living. And let the sweet savour of God’s name refresh our soul’s forever. The Psalmist says, that the Lord is mindful of us. He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless both great and small. God reminds the people of Israel, after they returned from the captivity, of Babylon. It would be very apt to remind the people that God remembered them and had therefore delivered them.
When Saul proved to rise against God and His Children, God met him on his way to Damascus. And he became blind. The moment he was touched by God, He changed. He became the great Apostle Paul. He wrote many letters from the prison to the seven churches in Asia. They are called Epistles, found in the New Testament. Once God fixes His eyes upon a person, He will surely bring him to His fold.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, Likewise God is mindful of you and your children. He will bless you. He has delivered you from several problems that came your way. He has saved you from so great calamities. He has restored you from your captivity. Therefore there can be no circumstances in which he cannot bestow upon you all the blessings which you need. If He could save you from such troubles he could save you from all the problems which you face in life. For the Bible says, God remembers us in our lowly state. For His mercy endures forever.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we are joyful to know that you are mindful of us and our children. And that you will deliver us from all our troubles. Bless us Lord, as you blessed the house of Israel and the house of Aaron. Thank You for fixing your eyes upon us and redeeming us from all the bondages.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Joel 2:12, “Now therefore says, the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Joel is the prophet, who compares the return of the Lord, with the invasions, of locust which devoured every crop and all vegetation. Both grain and fruit harvests failed, due to the devastating onslaught of this locust infestation. The total destruction of Israel’s wheat and barley crops, along with the failure of the entire fruit harvest, caused farmers and priests alike to mourn and lament bitterly . Not only were the priests instructed to mourn and call for a sacred assembly, but the entire nation was commanded to fast, and to cry out to the Lord their God, in sincere repentance of heart. The people of Israel had failed to listen to the prophetic warnings of earlier prophets. Therefore Joel appeals to the people for repentance.
What the chewing locusts left, was eaten by the swarming locusts. And what they did not devour, was taken by the crawling locusts. In the same way, the day of the Lord, will be one of greatest destructions, to befall the rebellious nation of Israel. It will be a time, such as the world has never seen, like the quarantine period, or the pandemic, caused by COVID-19. We now see people offering prayers with much reverence all over the world and many repenting of their sins and turning from their wicked ways and returning to God. The entire passage compares the advance, and destruction, of this terrible locust invasion, to a vast army of marching men-of-war, who plunder, everything in their path, like a well organised, band of thieves.
Joel’s entire prophecy, was given to the nation of Israel. And many men of Israel repented of their sins and turned unto God. The continued grace and mercy of God, can be seen in His divine appeal, to the people of Judah also, to repent of their sins and return to the Lord. The LORD, now says, ‘return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning.”
The precious truth of this passage, is that it is never too late for sinners or backsliders to turn away from their sins and to return to the Lord with all your heart and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for forgiveness and salvation. It is a beautiful demonstration, that the goodness, grace and mercy of our God, remains open to all, who will simply trust in His word, remember His goodness, genuinely return to Him with heart and soul – and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. It shows that fasting, with weeping and morning is often associated with true repentance of heart . It needs an inward change of heart.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank You for the book of Joel, which bears witness of Your goodness and grace, to all, who will trust in Your word. Teach us the lessons that You would have us learn from Israel’s history, and keep us from making the same mistakes. We pray that You would help us to make our outward life a demonstration of a changed , inner life, which helps us to trust you with implicit obedience in thought, word, deed and motive.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Jeremiah 33:3 “ Call to Me and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know.”
From the above context we come to understand that our God hears our cry and answers our prayers. He will tell us great and mighty things that you may not know. For He is a powerful God. He is a God of sympathy. The Bible says, As a father pities his children so the Lord pities them that fear Him. The Lord took pity on the people of Israel. He will take pity on you and me also for He is a God of compassion. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him.
God, encourages us that we will have tribulation in this world but we should be of good cheer because our God has overcome the world. Some of you are crying while reading this message. You seem to be asking will not God perform a miracle for me as He performed for Zacharias and Elizabeth in their old age. God heard the cry of this couple and answered their prayer. Through the birth of their son, John the Baptist, they had joy and gladness and there was great rejoicing at his birth.
Today God is looking at you, and saying, The request for which you have been praying and waiting all these days, and if you receive an answer to your prayer, then there will be great rejoicing in your family like that of Elizabeth and Zacharias. That day, God did what he promised Zacharias. Today God will perform a miracle for you. Just trust Him for he has Power in His words. He spoke, and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast. He calms the storm and its waves are still. He says, “ Call unto Me and I will show you great and mighty things.”
I wish to share a testimony of a sister who attended our fasting prayer meeting which is held on the first Saturday, of every month at BKN, Auditorium ,Vepery, Chennai. Her friend had brought her to the meeting. She was married for the past 25 years, but she did not have a child. She went to many hospitals and had all kinds of treatment, but she did not have a child. Doctors had told her that there was no chance for her to get pregnant and conceive a child. She continued to attend the meetings regularly with her friend. She believed that God would one day open her womb and grant her a child. She came to me for prayer, she said,”’ Brother it is twenty five years since I got married but I have no child. Yet I believe that God will bless me with a child through your prayer. ” I prayed for her saying, The Lord who was during the days of Abraham is still alive. And the Lord who was with Zacharias is still living today. And just as you heard the prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth and blessed them with a child, even in their old age, have mercy on this sister and take away the shame and dishonour that she is going through because of her barrenness. She could not conceive because of her old age. But God took pity on her and heard our prayer and the same month she conceived. Next year she came, with her child and stood as a testimony, in the prayer meeting at BKN. What a wonderful God we have. He hears the cry of his children and answers their prayers.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, you who are reading this message, is expecting such a miracle. You seem to say, Lord will you not perform a miracle for me? Yes, God is about to perform a supernatural miracle for you. For what is impossible with man, is possible with God. And all things are possible to them that believe. Have faith in the Lord and He will fulfil the desires of your heart. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank you for hearing our cry and answering our prayers. You are a mighty and awesome God. You take pity on your children. You are a faithful, God who keeps your covenant, for a thousand generation and shows mercy to them that keep your commandments. Lord be merciful to us and perform miracles in our lives too, that we may not lose heart, but be strengthened in faith.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Ruth 2:12, “The Lord Repay your work, and a full Reward be given to you, by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings, you have come for refuge.”
From the above context we understand how Boaz blesses Ruth, a Moabites. who returned to Bethlehem along with her mother in law Naomi, in search of livelihood. Boaz encouraged Ruth, as she was a woman who had a good testimony by saying the above words, “ The LORD repay your work and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel”. We see a new change had come upon her after the death of her young husband; she put her trust in the God of Israel. She gave up all her former associates, now she had come to live in among strangers. She felt very low in her own eyes. So she found protection under the wings of God.
Boaz, the citizen of Bethlehem, saluted her with words of tender encouragement; for though he was much older to her, yet he was humble enough to exhort her goodness towards her mother in law. God wants to give her another new life in the strange land , as she had come under the wings of God, for refuge. Boaz knew of Ruth’s commitment to the God of Israel. Wings of God, represents trust and security. And Ruth was overwhelmed by his kindness, and was polite enough to say, “Let me find favour in your eyes.”
Many of you are reading this message with a desire to have a new life. You seem to ask for yourself will it be possible for me to restart my life again. I have lost my life. Will God give me another opportunity? Surely God will bless you with another new life provided you make certain corrections in your life. You need to maintain a good testimony like that of Ruth. Speaking about her, Boaz says, “Blessed are you my daughter, For you have shown me more kindness at the end, than at the beginning. And you did not go after young men whether poor or rich.”’ Now my daughter, “I shall do for you all that you, request, for all the people in the town know that you are a virtuous woman.”
How do the people in your neighbourhood consider you.? How do you converse with them? Is your testimony spotless? If your ways are acceptable and worthy of praise surely God will give you another life which you are looking out for. For He is good to all those who put their trust in Him. God is concerned about your life. He wants to comfort you through this message. There is a secret in the life of Ruth, as to how her life that had almost ended. began to shoot up again. It was her sacrifice. She had left her father, her mother, and the land of her birth, and came with her mother in law to a land and people unknown to her. Are you willing to sacrifice all that is unwanted in your life for the glory of God. Ruth not only maintained a good testimony but also fell under the wings of the Lord God of Israel, for refuge. And so God had already prepared a relative who came forward to give her new life.
Ruth’s commitment to the God of Israel, was the cause for her to rebuild her life. The Bible says , “ I will repay your work.”A reward according to your work will be given to you. May be you are reading this message in the midst of agony and broken life. God wants to rebuild your life, re establish your life that has been uprooted or plucked out. For God says in the Bible, For I will set My eyes, on them for good, and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.”’ May the Lord help you to set a good testimony.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank You for rewarding Ruth according to her work. Help us to be like Ruth and hold a good testimony before others. To mend our ways and also practice, self sacrifice in our lives. Teach us to live for others and not be self oriented.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
