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.
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 Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus was on the way to Jericho, and there he healed a blind man. This was a proof that he was the Messiah. The incident with Zacchaeus happens in Jericho as Jesus was passing through. The healing of the blind man spread quickly so that the crowd began to gather as Jesus passed through the city of Jericho.
Those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ like Zacchaeus, will break through opposition and take pains to see Him. And Christ invited Himself to Zacchaeus house. Wherever Christ comes he opens the heart and inclines it to receive Him. He that has a mind to know Christ shall be known of Him. And those whom Christ calls must humble themselves and come down.
Zacchaeus gave proof publically that he had become a true convert. He does not look to be justified by his works like the Pharisee, but by his good works, he shows the sincerity of his faith and repentance. Zacchaeus is declared to be a happy man. He had turned from sin to God. Now that he is saved from his sins, from the guilt of them, from the power of them, he is entitled to receive all the benefits of Salvation. Christ had come to his house, and where Christ comes he brings salvation with Him.
Zacchaeus did not expect that he would be entertaining the Son Of God in his own house. As a rich important and chief tax collector he was an individual who was hated by the Jews and despised by the Romans. For they considered him to be a swindler or a thief. But Jesus did not ignore him or condemn him. He took time to come to him, to call him, and open up for him a new path of salvation. For Jesus had come to seek and to save that which was lost. No doubt God had been preparing the heart of this wealthy yet detested tax collector. For God is able to discern the motives of every man. And this meeting with Christ brought a sinner to repentance.
Have you received the salvation of God. If not seek Him and He will be found by you. If you reject Him then He will also reject you and it will be too late to be saved. Because salvation comes from God by grace through faith. And because you have not received salvation you would have incurred great loss in your life. God wants you to get back all that you have lost in your life. Make God the portion of your life. Say Lord “I am Yours and You are mine. Nothing shall separate me from the Love of God.” If you truly make this commitment, God will save you from the mouth of the grave, and the gate of hell shall not prevail you. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for this blessed day. Heavenly Father thank you, that you came to seek and to save a lost sinner like me, and for the amazing love and grace you have bestowed upon me. Thank you for forgiving my sins, for bringing salvation into my heart and for making it Your dwelling place. Keep me humble and meek. May I be used for your glory in all that I say and do.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The blessed word that the Lord has given me to bless you today is from the book of Ruth 2:12, “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
The bible tells us about the life of Ruth where she had to go through a great loss. She lost her husband at the time she was to get settled in life. She did not have a child. In this situation, God watched over her carefully. He wanted to know as to what decision she would take during a tough situation. The decision that Ruth took in spite of all the losses she went through, was pleasing in the sight of God. The mother-in-law of Ruth gave her an advice telling her to return to her parents’ house and to start a new life. In turn, Ruth told her that she would not leave her and go anywhere. God watched all that was taking place. When God keenly watched over her works, God was able to see that she was protecting her testimony. As God was well pleased with her, He blessed her with a good life.
Likewise, God watches over you when you take a decision during times of problem. The decision that you take must satisfy the heart of God. You might have had some small problems with your fellow mates. Those small issues might have worsened only because of your tension. My dear children of God, I advise you not to get tensed for every small issue. In situations such as these, learn to take wise decisions. Only then, you will be able to maintain peace with everyone around you. The Lord will reward you for all the efforts that you have put in at your work. When the works of your hand are pleasing in the sight of God, God will do great wonders in your life and you will be richly blessed.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord, give your children the wisdom to handle a problem wisely. Let them not get tensed for small issues. Father, let all the decisions that they take especially at the time of a problem be wise and pleasing in thy sight. Jesus, I pray that You may reward them according to the works of their hand. In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
