He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 NIV

Religious rule-keeping can sap your strength. It’s endless. There is always another class to attend, Sabbath to obey, Ramadan to observe. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection. Her inmates find work but they never find peace. How could they? They never know when they are finished.

Christ . . . fulfilled the law for you. Bid farewell to the burden of religion . . . God pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves.

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!

Jesus is with You


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus is with You

Matthew 9:24 says: “He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn.”

Are you like the people around Jesus in this story? He was entering the home of Jairus, a desperate man whose daughter had just died. There was no hope in man in this situation, but Jairus hoped in God. His family was helpless, and they were at the end of what they could do when Jesus said, “Give place, for she’s not dead.” In other words, “Give place; it’s not hopeless. Give place, for I am here. Give place; nothing is impossible if you believe Me.”

Often we think that our circumstance is beyond hope. We find it hard to see how Jesus could take the worst-case scenario and make it new. But Jesus is the master of rebuilding, the master of recreating, the master of healing, the master of repair, and the master of new beginnings. Wherever you are today, no matter what you are going through, lift up your eyes because your redemption does not come from man, and it does not come from you, but it comes from Jesus Christ.

He is there with you now!

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!

Be Encouraged: Jesus is coming soon


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Image via Wikipedia

Be Encouraged: Jesus Is Coming!

We sometimes wonder where God is during the storms of life, in all the troubles of the world. Where is God? Why doesn’t He stop the evil? The Bible assures us that God will abolish evil when Christ returns. Someday He will come with shouts of acclamation, and there will be a joyous reunion of all those who have trusted in Him.

Jesus did not tell us when He is coming back. He said we were not to speculate. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). The sixth chapter of Revelation gives a strikingly detailed portrait of the end times, but no one knows when these things will occur except the Father in heaven.

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!

Our Testimonies


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Image via Wikipedia

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!

Thank You Jesus


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Image via Wikipedia

Thank You Jesus

All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is
delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou
therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luke 4:6, 7

Jesus didn’t challenge satan’s claim to earthly authority when the
tempter took Him to a high place and showed Him all of the kingdoms of
the earth in a moment of time. He didn’t rebuke satan and call him a
liar on this specific occasion, because the devil really did have a
claim to those kingdoms-Adam gave his planet-ruling authority to satan
through his sin.

Sin instantly separated Adam and Eve from their unbroken fellowship
with God, and mankind took on the nature of death. Satan thought
everybody in the planet was his servant after that day. The nature of
death is in the father, and it passes through the bloodstream to the
child.

What Jesus dealt with was the sinful motive behind the tempter’s claims. Satan really did possess those earthly powers at that time, but
he had no authority to ask anyone to worship him. Jesus instantly
replied with the Word: “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”
(Luke 4:8).

Prayer for Today

Father,
Thank you for discernment and for power to overcome all temptations
that satan may place in my way. Thank you for your example of knowing
and doing the Word to live in victory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Think on These Things

* John 8:44
* Revelation 22:8

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

The Power Of Communion


The Power Of Communion
by Pastor Dony McGuire & Dr. Paul Graden

Last   month, Dr. Paul Graden brought us a wonderful teaching at our Sunday Worship   Celebration on the concepts and power of communion. He shared a somewhat lost   principle of the early church, in that they shared communion daily, often   multiple times a day, in their homes with those who were coming into   “the faith” as well as those who were already in “the faith.” I’ve   taken some of his teachings and broken them down in an attempt to awaken us   to some fresh realities about this all-important ordinance of our faith.

In that   time, communion typically took place prior to a meal and was preceded by a   “blessing,” much like Jesus blessed the bread before He broke it at   the Last Supper. The apostles devoted themselves to this (Acts 2:42). They   did this daily in homes (Acts 2:46). We see the Apostle Paul practicing this   also (Acts 20:11).

It wasn’t   until Rome took over the church in 313 AD that communion was restricted to   the church and the requirement for a priest to administer it started.   Interestingly enough, they allowed the “blessing” to remain at   home, which we now call “grace.” Before Rome banned communion at   home, there were hardly any records of sick or infirmed people in the church.   The only reason a “Christian” suffered illness was because they did   not understand what communion was really about. This is clearly   recorded in 1 Cor 11:28-32.

The church   had been instructed to walk in love (1 Cor 13), but they had failed to repent   to one another. Thus, some were receiving communion in an unworthy manner.   The result was that many were weak and sick, and many died. All because they   did not discern the Lord’s Body! The Corinthians missed Paul’s point. We can   learn from their misjudgment and heed Paul’s advice by understanding what   communion is about and starting off by judging ourselves first, bringing our   failings to God, repenting, receiving forgiveness and moving forward.

Communion   is paralleled with the Israelites preparation for the Exodus. They   slaughtered a lamb and its blood was applied to the doorpost to protect the   firstborn son from death. This was a typology of Jesus’ blood that would   protect us from death, as He promised us eternal life if we partake of   communion (John 6:53-54). Then the Israelites were instructed to eat the   flesh of the lamb. The next morning, millions of them left Egypt and not a   single one of them were sick or feeble! They continued taking communion daily   by eating of the “manna” (bread) that was supernaturally provided   by God.

Similarly,   Jesus instructs us to eat of His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:53-54). In   verse 56, Jesus promises that, when we do this, we will continually dwell in   Him. Luke described the promise a little differently by describing our   dwelling in Him as having our spiritual eyes opened (Luke 24:30-35).

We should   keep in mind that communion is not a “magic pill”; it must be   combined with faith (Hebrews 11:6). It is a symbol of God’s covenant with us.

God’s   grace is allowing us this glimpse “under the hood” through the   science of quantum physics. Quantum physics has been called the “Science   of Heaven Invading Earth.” The best part is that God’s grace is   communicating this complex message in terms that we all can understand.   Quantum physicists have discovered so much information that relates to   this–too much to briefly share here. But here are a couple of things to chew   on:

1. Our DNA   produces Bio-Photons, which they describe as a ball of light inside of us and   an aura of light particles outside of us. They are controlled by our thoughts   and emotions and have the ability to change our molecular structure. So, when   we partake of communion, we ingest the bread and juice. Our bodies begin to   absorb the elements into our cells and bloodstream. In faith, we believe that   the bread and juice become the blood and the body of our Lord Jesus Christ when   we partake of these elements. If we can wrap our minds around our faith, then   we have to take this a step further and realize this also introduces the very   DNA of God into our bodies and changes our DNA to His. When this happens,   diseases are healed and wholeness comes. So we should do this daily, and/or   as often as we will, and mix it with our faith.

2.   Scientists tell us that we literally phase in and out of this physical world   3,500 times per minute. Where are we when we phase out? Ephesians 2:6 tells   us that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Imagine the simple act   of taking communion “by faith” opening our spiritual eyes and allowing us to   become aware that we live in heaven and earth simultaneously! Then we will   see and hear God clearly and wonderfully. Then we will do as Jesus did and   only say what the Father says and do what we see the Father doing (John   5:19).

Yes, I   understand how complex these thoughts might seem in context to the way some   of us were raised, and I also understand many of us were led to believe   quantum physicists and scientists were on the opposite side of the spectrum   when it comes to the separation of the church and the world. But many of   today’s quantum physicists and scientists are believers also and are looking   for answers as to why many in the church seem to be powerless, sick and   diseased.

We can   accept the words of Jesus “by faith” and believe that when we partake of the   elements of communion “by faith,” then we’re ingesting His flesh and His   blood into our bodies. I also believe it’s within our ability to comprehend   this and then understand because He is God’s Son, we become partakers of the   DNA of His Father who is also our Father!!!

WOW!!!

For that   reason, I am asking that our church family enter into a season of taking   communion daily. Believing that when we do this by faith, we are becoming   partakers of the very life of God. No sickness or disease can exist where the   life of God exists. It’s our opportunity to step into a new realm of   understanding knowing that God the Father is not afraid to share His very   life with all of His children.

I am so   thankful for the grace of God allowing me to partake of His supernatural   Kingdom today and effect the world around me in a powerful way for Jesus. My   prayer is that you will join me and we will build a unified church as we   truly become the Body of Christ.

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

Jesus Is Our Help In Time Of Trouble


Jesus H. Christ

Jesus Is Our Help In Time Of Trouble

In the 5th chapter of John, Jesus went to the pool at Bethesda. There were multitudes lying there, but Jesus focused on one man who was crippled. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Before this bold statement, Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be made whole. He said, “Of course, but I have no one to help me.” There are many crippling things in life that affect us because we do not have the help of man. There are many other things we face that, even if we had the help of man, we could never overcome them. Men are great helpers. Women are great helpers. But often what we face in life only God can give us the strength, counsel, wisdom, and provision to make it through. Jesus helped this man though men had failed him. You may feel alone, but I’m telling you that Jesus is with you because He’s there to save you.

You are not alone!

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Image via Wikipedia

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37)

God’s call is unto rest and peace! When He called on erstwhile blind Bartimaeus, it was obvious that certain good things were about to follow. First, after tat call, Bartimaeus threw away his garment of sorrow. Then, He asked him what he wanted. As soon as he mentioned his need for healing, h got it instantly. He said he was tired of darkness and light suddenly came. The same fellow who had been dependent on people, begging daily suddenly became financially empowered and was able to cater for his needs. Lastly, the same people who hated him for nothing, and had asked him to keep quiet, were the same people who cheered him up and led him to his miracle (Mark 10:46-52). Have you been called by God? Your Call is to rest, and peace.

In addition, He calls unto satisfaction! In John 7:37-39, He invites you to come and drink so as to quench your thirst. There are many around us who do not know the meaning of satisfaction. They have money to buy whatever they want but they are never satisfied. Satisfaction cannot be brought. Jesus is the One who gives satisfaction. I once spent a night at the house of a wealthy man. At breakfast time, he spent almost an hour deciding how he wanted his eggs served. When his servants were through with his orders, they asked me what I wanted and I simply asked them to put everything on the table, for me to choose from. When Jesus calls you, it is a call to satisfaction. No matter how little you eat, you are satisfied. In addition, God’s call gives you victory over death. If you are called by God, you fear no death. Hence, David says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

His call is all – encompassing. For everyone who has been called, God has something special in reserves to back up that call. He has not called you to sorrow, demotion, lack or destruction. Accept His call because it is the highest call you can ever have.

KEY POINT:

A call to repentance is the most foundational of all calls. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ, heed this call now!

                                                                                                              

 

 

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

When we call on Jesus in a time of need, He will take that which is ordinary and transform it into something supernatural for our benefit


Jesus H. ChristWhen we call on Jesus in a time of need, He will take that which is ordinary and transform it into something supernatural for our benefit

In the 2nd chapter of John, Jesus went to a wedding feast, and while there He turned water into wine. This miracle is symbolic of one of the benefits of our salvation. We know that Jesus came to save, but how could this be a part of salvation?

When we call upon the name of the Lord and receive salvation, with it we receive something amazing. We can call on Jesus in a time of need, and He will take that which is ordinary and transform it into something supernatural for our benefit. In other words, Jesus can take ordinary things, touch them, and transform them into something that meets our need, brings joy to our lives, and helps complete what we are involved in.

Water is the most ordinary thing, but Jesus made it far more than it was. Think about the things you are involved in right now. You may be in a struggle that looks very natural and ordinary to you. Or maybe you are in the midst of a storm that you believe has natural causes, or you may even believe you caused it yourself. It doesn’t matter. There could be a hundred causes, but Jesus is with you right now, and He can touch what seems so natural, so ordinary, and He can make it have a supernatural outcome. He wants to touch your life and cause everything you are involved with to be the best it’s ever been.

Let Him touch your life!

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Image via Wikipedia

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus

AT THY WORD

Luke 5:5, “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

LUKE 5:1-11

Peter and his companions had been working hard all night. Their efforts had not produced even one fish. They had given up and were headed home. But Jesus told them to try it just one more time.

It would have been easy for Peter to reject Jesus’ command. After all, Peter had been a fisherman all his life. Jesus was just a preacher. What did He know about fishing? Yet something, or rather someone, caused Peter to try just once more.

Many people are like Simon Peter and his partners. They have done all that they know to do and yet they’ve come up empty-handed. This breeds a despair and hopelessness that causes many people to quit trying. Yet, just one word from Jesus could make the same tasks that have been unproductive on our own bear great fruit.

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus. Peter said, “at thy word I will let down the net.” God‘s words always get results.

Today, make sure your efforts are directed by God and you will experience the results that have eluded you in the past.