 “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Whatever it is that we face today let us face it with courage because, “Greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Is it not true at this moment that the world is overcome in us through Christ Jesus? Does self govern us? Are we working to acquire wealth for our own aggrandisement? Are we living to win honour and fame among men? Are we afraid of men’s frowns? Are we the slaves of popular opinion? Do we do things because it is the custom to do them? Are we the slaves of fashion? If we are, then we know nothing about this victory. But if we are true Christians then we are overcomers today. The world has no dominion over us, though it tempts us, frightens us, and flatters us and then turns against us. We rise above it by the power of thy Spirit, for the love of Christ constrains us. We live not for ourselves and the things that are seen, but our love is for Christ and toward things invisible. Charles Spurgeon By the blood of the Lamb we overcome fear, depression, anxiety, stress, worry, and concern. We are more than conquerors! GiGi❤️
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 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. - James 2: 18
Our working definition of faith that works continues to bless us as we examine it even closer. We have already noted faith that works involves unwavering trust. We notice next from our definition that the trust at the root of faith that works amounts to mere lip service unless and until it is put into action. That is to say, this trust doesn't just talk. It takes steps and walks! This reminds me of the story of a famous tight rope walker who proposed to push a wheel barrel across Niagara Falls. A great crowd from around the world gathered to witness this fantastic feat. As the tight rope walker approached the rope which stretched across the mighty waters, he asked: "How many of you believe I can push this wheel barrel across the falls on the tight rope?" The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, which indicated their confidence in his ability. Then, he asked: "Now, which one of you wants to ride in the wheel barrel?" Needless to say, he was immediately met with silence and no volunteers. Faith that works is not a matter of you simply saying: "I believe." It only proves itself to be real when you back it up by riding in the wheel barrel! Faith that works walks through seas on dry land and knows God will hold back the water. Faith that works steps out of the boat on to the waves at the Lord's command. Faith that works pour water into jars and waits for it to become wine. Faith that works goes to see the priest while leprosy still abounds. Faith that works dips in muddy water to get cleansed. Faith that works applies for a job for which the applicant is not fully qualified. Faith that works sets the table when the cupboard is bare. Faith that works registers for college before all the tuition is paid. Faith that works acts as if God has already worked. You can't tell if your faith works until you put it to work. James was right. Faith without works is dead. (James 2: 14-26) Pastor Benjamin Morris 🙏🏽  “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV)
The Lord loves it when we take time out to commune with Him. Just as we miss our children when they grow older and become busy with life, when once they were at our feet pulling and tugging for our attention, the Lord longs to spend time with his children. Oh how he misses us as we become too busy to seek him first. A missionary some years ago, returning from Southern Africa, gave a description of the work which had been accomplished there, through the preaching of the gospel, and among other things he pictured a little incident of which he had been an eye-witness. He said that one morning he saw a converted African chieftain sitting under a palm tree with his Bible open before him. Every now and then he cast his eyes on his book and read a passage, and then he paused and looked up a little while, and his lips were seen to be in motion. Thus he continued alternately to look down on the Scriptures and to turn his eyes upward towards heaven. The missionary passed by without disturbing the good man, but a little while after he mentioned to him what he had seen, and asked him why it was that sometimes he read, and sometimes he looked up? The man replied,— “I look down to the book, and God speaks to me, and then I look up in prayer, and speak to the Lord, and in this way we keep up a holy talk with each other.” Charles Spurgeon “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20, KJV) As we are reading our daily devotions, let us make this a carved out special time, without distraction or rush. This should be a time where we can sit for a while and commune with our God. He longs for this time with us. GiGi❤️  “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Unless we forgive one another we cannot claim salvation. And when we forgive we should not do so grudgingly. We forgive because we are free in Christ Jesus and our desire is to please Him. We forgive one another because forgiveness is sourced in the power of God and helps us maintain our freedom in Him. We forgive one another because we have been forgiven, “for Christ’s sake.” In a sermon, Charles Spurgeon preached that it was senseless to even put money in the offering box, to even kneel and pray, until we have first forgiven one another. “God will not accept the gifts, prayers, or praises of an unrelenting heart. He will not accept a penny of an offering from an unrelenting and unforgiving temper. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20) Spurgeon declared, “If anyone here who is a Christian finds it difficult to forgive, I am going to give him three words which will help him wonderfully. I would put them into your mouth. ‘For Christ' s sake.’ Can’t you forgive on just that ground? I know the girl has acted shamefully, the son has behaved wrongfully, the husband or wife spoke harshly. Yet, do it for his sake. I may be speaking very simply to some of you. I hope I am. If there are any of you whose heart is in a bad state and have said you will never forgive…Let go of that drop of malice in your soul, for Christ’s sake. Oh powerful word, how it convicts us, and as it convicts it seems to leave no trace of anger behind it: for Christ’s sake our love suffers long and never fails.” This is the moment that we rise up and visit that sister or brother, pick up the phone and call our child, knock on the closed door of our spouse, or reach out to the friend we have shunned. Now is the moment we let it go and forgive, for Christ’s Sake! GiGi❤️  I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44:22, NKJV)
If the Lord forgives you at all, let me tell you what he will do— he will punish that sin of yours. Yes, he has punished it on Christ. Christ stood for you and bore all that you should have borne from the wrath of God. Therefore, God is severely just while he is bountifully merciful to you. Also, when God forgives you he does it unconditionally. He will not forgive you on the condition of this or that in the future, but now he speaks the word, “I have blotted out thy sins like a cloud, and like a thick cloud thine iniquities.” All this he can do in a moment; before that clock ticks yet again the sentence may go forth, “That soul has trusted my dear Son, and I have made him whiter than snow, and whiter than snow he shall be in my sight in time and in eternity. I have cast all his sins behind my back, I have covered him with a robe of righteousness; he is mine now, and he shall be mine in the day when I make up my jewels.” Here is a pardon which you have not to earn but to accept freely. Here is a pardon given to you, not on the condition of anything you are to be, or to feel, or to do, or to give; but a pardon given freely to you out of the riches of God’s lovingkindness and tender mercy. Jesus Christ has bought it; Jesus Christ has bought it for you; he brings it to you now; and oh! if you have grace to receive it, you may accept it, and go on your way rejoicing in the Lord your God. This is a pardon worth receiving. Charles Spurgeon GiGi❤️  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, NIV)
Going through life’s ups and downs can be exhausting. As soon as you get over one thing, another one raises its head. Yet, after each trial, hopefully, we find ourselves to be stronger and wiser. For the trials do come to strengthen our prayer life and draw us closer to God. Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “Anything is a blessing which causes us to pray.” If our trails have strengthened our prayer life, then we have already experienced their first fruits. When we take time to pray, it offers us refocus and anchors us in that moment. We are reminded of who we are and particularly, who God is. He is sovereign, our rock and our shield. We know that we can take it to Him in prayer and everything is going to be alright. Nothing might have changed in that moment physically, but spiritually there’s this reassurance that God is in control. Prayer is our testament of our confidence in God, just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego testified so boldly, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-20, NIV) Be encouraged today sisters and brothers and don’t become weary in doing the right thing, for there is a reward if we continue to hold on and pray, pray, pray. GiGi❤️  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:9)
No problem has ever been resolved by worrying about it. Worry, left unchecked, will turn into fear. Prayer, on the other hand, is a game changer and is how we are instructed to petition God. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14) Today, let’s pass along our concerns to God and let Him deal with it. He has unlimited resources and solutions! Is your refrigerator empty? Do you not have sufficient clothing to wear? In Jesus’ message about not worrying, He is not saying that food, drink and clothing are not important. He knows they are, but the point is that since our Heavenly Father provides for the birds daily, He will provide for us, as well. Let’s turn the time we would waste worrying about a problem into time with God. Let’s petition Him for our daily needs. Do not worry - our Heavenly Father loves us and desires to meet our needs! Nikkie💕  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. - 1 Corinthians 15: 6
The crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection of Christ are inextricably bound together. The one leads to the other and neither one makes sense without the other. Now, there is a third element to the sojourn of our Savior. That is His ascension. We are told in Acts that while His disciples were gazing at Him he ascended into the heavens. Stephen would later confirm that He sat down at the right hand of the Father. Okay. Crucifixion. Resurrection. Ascension. That is the order. We suffer. We rise. We go back to the Father. Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn't go back to heaven immediately after His resurrection? Most of us would have been too through with planet earth and have leaped at this opportunity to get the heck out of here and go back to heaven. Not, Jesus. He hung around after His resurrection. Do you see those words at the beginning of verse 6 -"after that?" He had to be seen. Jesus was not satisfied with the fact that He had risen. He wanted to make sure that somebody knew it besides Himself. He did not desire it to be a rumor. His aim was to make it a matter of fact. Thus, He not only showed Himself to His closest disciples (including Thomas) but also to more than five hundred people over the course of forty days. He had something to say. Jesus refused to go quietly into the night and slip into the clouds without comment. Before He left He had something to say: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: - Acts 1: 3 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28: 18-20 He had somethings to secure. The doubt concerning His resurrection was dispelled by Jesus with His presence among His disciples. Yet, His impending absence created doubt within them about their ability to live without Him. That is why before He ascended, He made it a point to assure them that they would be fine because He was going to send them help. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. - Acts 1: 8 After His resurrection, He did not leave until He was sure that He had left people, places and things established to continue the new life which had come into being because of His resurrection. Neither should we. What are you doing to turn your resurrection into a legacy which lives on after you have ascended? Pastor Benjamin Morris🙏🏽  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10) God wasn’t looking for a perfect vessel when he chose Abraham to be the father of all nations. He was aware of Moses’ imperfections when he chose him to lead his people out of bondage. Despite David’s weaknesses, God considered him a man after his own heart. These examples are proof that our weaknesses are not a hindrance but the very things that compel us to lean on, and trust in God, who is the source of our strength and success. “My Brothers and Sisters, glory in your infirmities—thank God for your weaknesses! There is room for God when you are empty! But when you are so full, and so strong, and feel you are capable, you will attempt life without God and the result will be failure.” Charles Spurgeon Let’s not be ashamed of our weak moments, those times when we struggle, mess up or feel empty. Let us be like David and cry out to God in our distress because then, and only then is our “strength made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) GiGi❤️  “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” [Romans 8:38-39].
You say that your enemies slander you; but will Christ believe them? They are trying to destroy your good name and reputation; but will your Lord think any less of you? Will HE be deceived by their lies? You say that friends are forsaking you; but will they take Jesus away, and make him forsake you? You say that your enemies are doing all that they can to destroy you, but can they destroy the divine promises? The Lord has promised to give his sheep eternal life; can they take that promise from you, or make it of no value? They may fight against you, but can they keep you out of heaven? They may threaten you, but can they make the covenant of grace to be of no effect? Since eternal things are safe, we can be content to let other things come or go just as God wills. Again, can anyone do anything to you which God does not permit? And if God permits it, can any real harm come to you? God’s Word says, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” [1 Peter 3:13]. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” [Romans 8:28]. Charles Spurgeon |
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