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 Luke 1:28, And having come in, the Angel said to her, “ Rejoice highly favoured, one, The Lord is with you.”Blessed are you among women.”
There are many kinds of greetings and blessing in the Bible. Apostle John while writing a letter to Gaius, addresses him as “beloved Gaius” whom I love in truth. And he blesses him in this manner. “Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers.” He sends a note of personal greetings to Gaius. In the same manner we see how the Angel Gabriel descended from heaven, came down to meet Mary the mother of Jesus, and greets her with words of blessing. During Bible times it was the custom of the people to greet each other. This is in practice even in the recent times. Greetings are an expression of friendly or respectful regards. Greetings is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups, of people coming in contact with each other.
So Mary in response to the greetings from the Angel says, “What manner of greetings was this?”For she was troubled at heart. But from this, one must understand, that even Angels in heaven are pleased to greet the children of God on the earth. Having met the Angel of God and having been informed about the conception of Elizabeth, immediately Mary hastens to visit her relative Elizabeth and Zachariah. Though Elizabeth was of much age, she was pregnant and had a baby within her womb. The child in her womb was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, there was no one greater than John who was born of a woman. Mary entered the house of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, (who was supposed to be the Mother of the Son of God, Jesus Christ,) said, “When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb, jumped for joy. “And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said to Mary, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Likewise we see how the Angel of the Lord greeted Gideon; He said “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valour.” Similarly we see how Boaz , when he returned from Bethlehem greeted the Harvesters. “The Lord be with you.”And they in return answered”, “The Lord bless you.”There was another instance when Jesus was healing the demon, that a certain woman from a crowd called out to Him saying, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” Thus we see the necessity of greeting others and blessing them too from the depth of our heart.
Hence let us learn to greet and bless each other. God honors the blessed words.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord teach us to greet one another with true love from the depth of our heart. Help us to learn to respect the feelings of others especially those who are in need. Fill our hearts with good spirit and friendly intention. 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 Genesis 24:60 , “And they blessed Rebecca and said to her, Our Sister, may you become, The Mother, of thousands of ten thousands: And may your descendants possess, the gates of those who hate them. ” The above word of God tells about, Rebecca. She was chosen by Eliezer to be the lawful wife of Isaac , son of his master Abraham. So she along with her servant were going away from her father’s house to a distant country to Abraham’s house. As her family thought that they may not see her in the future, father Bethuel and her brother Laban blessed her from the depth of their heart. It is supposed to be a farewell blessing and good wishes of the father. It was based on two points. Firstly she should be the mother of many descendants and secondly that they should be victorious over their enemies. They actually prayed God to make her very fruitful. They wished the best and choicest blessing upon her and said unto her, “ May you be the mother of thousands of millions.”And accordingly she became the mother of the Edomites and Israelites both springing from her. And they also said, “Let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them”. Indicating that her descendants would exercise dominion and authority over their enemies. Let them not only be numerous in number but also victorious.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, just as Bethuel and Laban blessed Rebecca God wants to bless you. He wants you to enjoy the wealth and riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. God is mindful of you, your family and your children. He remembers you in your lowly state. He is a God who provides food to all flesh. He alone does great wonders for his mercy endures forever.
My dear children of God, may be you are going through some kind of financial stress or caught up with huge debts or may be in the state of poverty in your life and do not know how to overcome this situation. Well the Lord will deliver you from all your financial crisis. And redeem you from your distress. The Bible says, Though He (Jesus) was rich, yet for your sake, He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. Trust in Jesus, Believe Him, for He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Especially when you are broken, and are in need of financial success. Our God is one who opens his hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. God who did not spare his own son, (Jesus) but delivered Him up for us all, How shall He not with him also freely give us all things? The only thing God expects of you is to submit to God and be at peace with Him. In this way prosperity will come to you. You will be enriched in every way for he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. We thank you for being mindful of us. We pray Lord that you will redeem us from our financial crisis, and bring about a financial break through. Help us to manage our family through difficult times. Grant us the spirit to trust in You at all times in sorrow or in joy. Never to leave you, or drift away from you. May we prosper and be successful in our life. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet and bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The blessed word that the Lord has given for you today is from the book of Daniel 9:23, “As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed”. The Lord sent angel Gabriel to Daniel to tell him that he was highly esteemed in the sight of the Lord.
Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days not for himself but interceding for the people and the nation so that the Lord’s wrath may not come upon them. While he was praying, the Lord sent an angel from heaven. The book of Daniel 10:10-11 says, “A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling”. Daniel prayed in truth and earnestness. When the angel of the Lord told Daniel to stand up he trembled and stood in the presence of the Lord. As the Lord was well pleased by the way he prayed, the Lord answered all his requests and was with him. Daniel did not only find favor in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. He was greatly blessed. The bible also tells us that when Job prayed for his brothers, the Lord changed all his bondage.
Similarly, when you pray for the needs of others, the Lord will meet your needs. When you humble yourself in prayer, as a mark of having listened to your prayers, the Lord will send His angel with good news. The prayer that you pray must come from the depth of your heart. You shall keep receiving replies for your prayers from heaven. When you humble yourself and pray with earnestness, the Lord will come down to meet all your requests. Pour out your heart’s burden at the feet of Jesus. You will experience wonders in your life. The Lord who answered the prayers of Daniel will answer yours too. The Lord will make you to take root and stand firm in front of those who waited to see your downfall.
The Lord says that from this day on, your family life, your work life and even your business shall bloom like the lily of the valley. You shall be like the Lebanon taking firm roots on solid grounds. When you learn to give the first place to God in all that you do, God will take you to great heights in life. Make God the center of your life.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for this blessed day. Thank You for speaking to Your children through the life of Daniel. I pray that they may learn to pray in truth and earnestness for the needs of others with much burden in their hearts. Lord, I pray that You may fulfill all their needs and requests. May Your hands of mercy and grace be upon them in all that they do. I submit Your dear children in Your hands of love and protection. 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 2 Chronicles 20:20, ” Believe in the Lord Your God. And you shall be established. Believe His prophets and you shall prosper”.
My dear brothers and sisters, God has appointed men of God or Prophets for the sake of his people. God has anointed and appointed men of God to talk, and plead and to intercede on behalf of his children. During the time of Prophet Elisha, the Shunammite woman, did not have a child for many years. She had everything, but she was not blessed with a child. It was the practice or custom of the woman to invite the prophet Elisha, while he was on his Missionary journey, to her house, give him food and let him stay on the upper room of her house. She was a woman of great honour. It was through the prayers of this great prophet that she got a baby boy. And he was growing up. All of a sudden the boy developed high temperature and the child passed away, as she was attending to him on her lap.
She was a mother with a difference. She had a room in the upper floor of her house with a cot table and a chair. And it was exclusively for the prophet. She laid the dead body of the child on the bed in the upper room of the prophet and closed the door. Then she saddled a donkey and asked her servant to drive quickly and not to stop on the way. She went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. As soon as she conveyed the incident to him, Elisha, first gave a staff to his servant Gehazi, and directed him to lay it on the face of the child, believing that the baby would revive back to life. He left at once. But she was adamant or determined that she would only leave if the prophet came along with her. So Elisha accompanied with her to her house. He went straight into his room and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. He knew that if the boy had to come back to life then it would be possible only with God. The Lord listened to his prayer and brought back life into the child. Hallelujah! Thus we see how the Prophet of God prayed for the Shunammite son and brought him to life. He called the Shunammite woman and handed over the little boy. And departed back to his home.
Similarly we see Moses another prophet of God who interceded on behalf of the children of God namely the Israelites. As Moses delayed coming down from Mount Sinai, the children of Israel made a golden calf and began to worship it. They provoked God to anger and sinned against Him deliberately. The wrath of God was kindled and He wanted to destroy them. So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”Moses was willing to lose his heavenly position for the sake of his people who followed him diligently to the promised land flowing with milk and honey. This is the attribute of a true Prophet of God. He was willing to let go off his leadership in order to save the people of God.
My dear Brothers and Sisters I urge you to trust in the Prophets God has appointed and be benefitted by their earnest intercession, prayer and supplication for your needs.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. We thank you Lord for anointing and appointing prophets who could plead and intercede on our behalf to the Lord and grant us our petition. May the children of God believe the words of the prophets and prosper in their life.
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 Joel 2:12, “Now therefore says, the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, In John 1:12, we read that to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 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. 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.
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, devil tries to attack them. They might be well educated Medical students or Engineers. But suddenly such students get caught up in depression. This happens when one goes away from the Lord. Then the devil takes possession of such people. You should never give such 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.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, God’s merciful purpose to His people is to revive and to restore. God calls us back to himself. God demonstrated His love for us through the death of His son. Even today check your life. Have you gone away from the Lord. Repent today and return back to Him. For God is merciful with the merciful, and with a blameless man He will show Himself blameless. Accept Jesus as your saviour. Don’t neglect or postpone this opportunity.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Dear Lord if anyone has backslidden I pray You to be merciful to them. Forgive them of their sinful nature and cause them to reconcile with You. Help them to cherish your goodness rather than submit themselves to worldly pleasures. May they experience the glory of God in their lives. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
