Tag Archives: Jerusalem

Bloom wherever God plants you

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Bloom wherever God plants you.

 

 

 

 

Acts 21:30

“And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.”
NKJV

Although the door never really opened to the Jewish people, Paul continuously ministered to them. There was, however, an open door for Paul to minister to the Gentiles. Sometimes in ministry, you may want to do one thing but God wants you to do something else. Maybe you have a heart for a particular country, region or a specific people group, but God wants you to ‘bloom right where you are planted’. Perhaps God has given you a heart to pray for missions in an area but hasn’t asked you to do it yourself. Paul supported the church at Jerusalem, but he was never really part of the church there. Look for open doors where you are. If there is an opportunity to join a ministry team in church, go for it! Maybe your heart is in Children’s Ministry or Youth Ministry, but the open door is in another area of ministry.

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'” Matt 25:21 NKJV

Friend, go for the open door. Perhaps later, God will open the other door. It’s quite possible you are being tested whether you will be faithful in the small things.

 

 

Life Lesson: Bloom wherever God plants you.

Dear Father,
Thank You for giving me gifts that I can use to serve You and others. Please forgive me for times when I have not used them to serve. I ask You to show me the open door, even if it is not what I want, and give me the faith to go through it. I pray this in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Jesus Works in Community

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Jesus Works in Community

Culled from: Max Lucado Daily

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8”

None of us can do what all of us can do—Jesus works in community!

In 1976, an earthquake devastated the highlands of Guatemala. Thousands were killed and even more left homeless. Twelve of us from our college volunteered to help out during spring break. Most of us were ministry students. All of us loved to discuss theology. I can’t remember the list. But by the time we reached Guatemala, I’d discerned the faithful from the infidels. I knew who was in and who was out!

But our task turned rivals into partners. We were a team. We began to sing together. Pray together. It was Jesus’ plan all along. Jesus didn’t issue individual assignments. He didn’t move one-by-one down the line and knight each individual. He did, however, say in Acts 1:8, “You—all of you collectively—shall be my witnesses!”

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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The Greatness Of Christ’s Love

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The Greatness Of Christ’s Love

Such Passion

“I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love.” Ephesians 3:18

From the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem we’ve pondered the love of our Father. What can you say to that kind of emotion? Upon learning that God would rather die than live without you, how do you react? How can you begin to explain such passion?

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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666 or 777

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666 or 777?


Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18

This beast does great wonders, making a fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. The mark of the beast in Scripture is six, the number of a man, meaning incompleteness. The beast’s system is three sixes or an incomplete system which will fail. Satan designed it, of course, so it cannot succeed. Satan, antichrist, and the false prophet will fail.

It is important that you have an understanding of 666. Satan can’t win, so there’s no reason to hook up with him. I am not hooked up with satan, and I am not hooked up with the Babylonian system. I am hooked up with Jesus the Messiah! His number is seven, and with that number of completeness you get the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and they win!

We are living in an anti-God, humanistic, anti-Word of God system that prevails in our educational systems and in our media. We see the rise of every kind of sin. Every perversion we can imagine is no longer shocking. We are in the last of the last days; in fact, we are in that sliver of time between Jerusalem no longer being trodden down of the Gentiles and the rapture of the church. Jesus said, “No man knows the day nor hour,” but He did say that you will know by the leaves turning on the trees that summer is near. Summer is near and the return of the Lord is near, so we need to be ready!

Prayer for Today

Father!
Your Word tells me everything I need to walk in light and truth. Your Spirit gives me everything I need to walk with courage and strength. Your Son gives me life, and I thank you! In Jesus Christ! Name, Amen.

Think on These Things

Revelation 15:2
Hosea 14:9

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Don’t get distracted

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Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey

Don’t get distracted

 

 

Acts 24:1

“Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.”
NKJV

 

What was Ananias doing chasing Paul around? As the High Priest, he should have been serving God and ministering to the people of Israel. Ananias was around 80 years old, yet he was so caught up in resentment that he was willing to make the 60 mile journey from Jerusalem to Caesarea to bring accusation against Paul. It’s been said, that “a distraction is what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal.” When we spend our time chasing distractions, we accomplish nothing. We only have so much time and so many hours in a day. In Matthew 5:37-40, Jesus told us to love God and love others, yet often we take our eyes off of Jesus and place them on ourselves.

Ps 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” NKJV

If you are over 35, you are probably more than half way through your lifetime. At the age of 50, you have likely used seventy percent of your time. Friends, as you get older the numbers don’t get better. Take a moment and reflect. Are you distracted? If you are focused on Jesus, then you will love God and love others. Do you love others? How? If you are making a long journey and your course gets off by even one degree, you will miss your destination by hundreds of miles. This is why we have to constantly make course corrections in our lives. Are you focused on Jesus or distracted by other things? Distracted? Uh oh, time for a course correction. Do you love other people? No? Oops… time for another course correction.

 

Life Lesson: As we follow Jesus we should not get distracted.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I love You. Please help me to love and serve others. Please forgive me for times when I have been distracted. If I am off course Lord, I ask that You would show me through Your Word, through a Bible teaching church, and through fellowship with other Christians, so that I make corrections. I pray this in Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Give Your Life Away

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Give Your Life Away

 

Acts 21:12-13

“Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
NKJV

Sometimes we say, “I would be willing to die for the Lord.” If you say that and really mean it, then that’s awesome. But are you willing to live for the Lord?

Paul wrote,

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NKJV

If anyone lived for Christ, it was the Apostle Paul. He endured many trials and suffered greatly in order to further the Gospel. Paul did end up dying for the Lord, but by his living for the Lord, his life was “poured out as a drink offering” (2 Tim 4:6). If you are living for the Lord, then you will be giving your life away and living sacrificially for others and not for yourself.

Jesus said,

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:39 NLT

Are you giving your life away?

Life Lesson: We should give our lives away as we follow Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for giving me new life in Christ. Please help me to live for You and help me to serve others sacrificially. Please forgive me for times when I have lived selfishly. In Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Out Of Egypt

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Israel 5 009.Jesus Christ Walk of Tears on the...

Israel 5 009.Jesus Christ Walk of Tears on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Out Of Egypt

 

2 Chronicles 36:4

“Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz‘s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.”
NKJV

Throughout the Bible, we see Egypt presented as a picture of sin. It was a land of great wealth and power, but to Israel, it was a land of captivity and bondage. As Christians, we live in a world that is much like Egypt. The world desires to see us in bondage to its system. Whether you call it the “rat race” or “keeping up with the Joneses”, the world system will only leave you wanting more. Friend, we need to get off that train because it’s headed nowhere except over a cliff.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” NKJV

Instead of letting the world dictate our life, we need to let God have control. Let the Word of God go into your eyes, your ears, your brain and your heart so that it will begin changing you from the inside out. Don’t be fooled by the “riches” of Egypt, rather experience the true riches of God.

Life Lesson: Change the way you think, and you change the way you live.

Dear God,
Give me eyes to see and a heart to receive Your Word. Help me to overcome the worldly way of thinking and instead begin thinking like Jesus. I pray that today would be the day that I change my life by walking in obedience to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Help For The Helpless

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4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone” Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Help for the Helpless

“Jesus asked him, ‘Do you want to be well?” -John 5:6

Jesus was walking through Jerusalem. Think New York City. That’s what Jerusalem
was – the metropolitan gathering spot. It was crowed with all kinds of people. Eventually,
Jesus passed by a pool called “Bethesda.” This pool was believed to have magical
powers. Many believed that when the waters were stirred, the first one to enter
the pool would be healed. So, hundreds of sick people were lying by this pool,
watching and waiting for their opportunity to be healed.

One man had been waiting 38 years for his miracle! He was a paralytic and he had
lain there for nearly four decades! Every day he watched. Every day he waited.
Every day he hoped for his chance! Would today be the day…finally?

Jesus sees this man and asks him, “Do you want to be well?”

What a question! Why else would he wait there that long? But in truth, this is one
of the most salient questions we can be asked, “Do you want to be well?”

Why wouldn’t this man have wanted to be well? Well, it would mean that his way of
life would be forever changed. He would have to learn how to fend for himself instead
of living off handouts. He would have to risk standing up, falling (a likelihood
since he hadn’t stood on his legs for so long), and looking like a fool.
It meant he would have to change. He would have to let go of his old life and learn
a new one.

But he did say yes. And so Jesus gave His prescription for getting well. He said,
“Get up!” And the man GOT UP! He picked up his mat – the same mat that had carried
him – and walked! He walked into his new life! He walked into his miracle!

Get up. Walk into your miracle today!

PRAYER:

Lord, I feel helpless. But You are help for the helpless. You are hope for the hopeless!
I want to be made whole! I want to have the strength to get up! I reach out my hand to
You, today, and grab onto You. Pick me up, Lord, in Jesus Christ Name I pray! Amen.

What is holding you back from getting up and saying “yes” to your miracle today?

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning…..I will hope in Him

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Samuel drinking tea

Samuel drinking tea (Photo credit: Aaron Geller)

The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning…..I will hope in Him (Lamentations 3:22-24)

God is faithful

God Never Gives Up On Us

One day in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Hours later, a powerful earthquake rocked the area. People were trapped under flattened buildings. Kissing his wife, Samuel grabbed his coat and headed for the school. What he saw brought tears to his eyes. Armand’s school was a pile of debris.

Where Armand’s classroom used to be, Samuel began pulling a broken beam off the pile. He picked up a rock and put it to the side, then another, and another. One of the parents looking on asked, “What are you doing?”

“Digging for my son,” Samuel answered.

The man exclaimed, “You’re just going to make things worse! This building is unstable,” and tried to pull Samuel away. Others, including a firefighter, tried to get him to stop, but he would not.

All through the night and into the next day, Samuel continued digging. Finally, a faint “Help!” came from under the rubble. Then the faint voice came again. “Papa?”

He began to dig furiously. Finally, he could see his son. “Come out!” he said with relief.

“I told the other kids not to worry,” Armand said. “I told them that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised you’d always be there for me.” Fourteen children were saved that day because one father was faithful.

How much more faithful is our heavenly Father! Whether trapped by fallen debris in an earthquake or trapped by life’s hardships, we are never cut off from His love and faithfulness.

Your View of God Really Matters …

Do you ever wonder if God will be faithful to you, in your circumstances? Meditate on Lamentations 3:22-24. Although this was written to the Israelites after the sacking of Jerusalem, it also speaks to us today of the hope that comes from focusing on who God is.

What More Does God Say?

Psalm 36:5; Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Because God is faithful, I will trust Him to always keep His promises!

Culled from:  www.DiscoverGOD.com

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Our Testimonies

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Our testimonies

 

Acts 22:17-18

Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
NKJV

In Acts chapter 22, Paul is sharing his testimony with an enraged group of Jews who were seeking to kill him. Notice, however, what Paul does NOT share in his testimony to these men. Paul isn’t saying anything about how difficult his life has been since he became a Christian. Certainly, he could have. Paul endured incredible hardships during his ministry. He was beaten many times; he was stoned with rocks, shipwrecked and imprisoned. Paul could easily have said, “Well, life’s been pretty hard since Jesus saved me. I’ve been beaten, shipwrecked and imprisoned and now, once again, people are trying to kill me.” Instead, Paul puts the focus on Jesus…and so should we. Brothers and sisters, when sharing your testimony, don’t talk about the difficulties in your life. Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation, but He didn’t stop there.

Jesus said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33b NKJV

To talk about trials will only push people away. Talk about Jesus and salvation through Him.

Life Lesson: When sharing, always keep Jesus the focus. Keep the main thing, the main thing.

Dear Father,
Thank You for the life You have given me. Lord, when You bring me the opportunity to speak to someone about my testimony, help me to always keep Jesus the main thing. Please do not let my words get in the way, but let the Holy Spirit speak through me so that Jesus will be seen. Thank You for giving us Your Word to learn and obey. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen

May The Good Lord Save Nigeria And Israel From All Our Enemies And Prosper Us Beyond Our Imaginations, In Jesus Christ Mighty Name We Pray, Amen!

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