Gods FAVOR. . .

************P.S: Sorry, for the delay. Got my off on a Saturday this month-in preparation for Christmas. See you then. God's Peace!************

My People,

 

Good Morning! It’s a wonderful life and we need to praise God for every second we live on this earth. So I thank God for the morning, I thank God for my family, I thank God for all the people and the people that I have come to know and love, I thank God for the planet we live in, I thank God for my guardian-angel, I thank God for all the Angels and the Saints and most of all I thank God for YOU!

Every one aspires to be the best they can be. We all want our dreams to come true.  The only thing is we can never know-the day or the hour or the moment, when things happen. I think we hurt the most, when we feel that somewhere down the line things did not work out for us. We get disappointed. Some of us are on the verge of getting our dreams realized when all of a sudden we get rejected. Some of us face rejection over and over. Some of us face disappointment every now and then, so much so that we have grown accustomed to it. And somewhere at some point of time, we become unknowingly rude to others. Some people constantly nag others. Some people simply end up seeing bad in each and everything they do or others do – as if somewhere there is no hope left.

When our dreams fail, we fail. Some of us fall to never rise again. And some of us struggle. And through the struggle some of us believe that there will be such a moment and some of us are ready to wait.

Too often, we condemn someone. We think of ourselves as doing better than the other. Often, we forget what it is like to walk in another’s shoe? We look at a fault and we immediately pass judgement on that person without even giving a second thought to how it must be for that person. The point I’m trying to make is we don’t need to be so hard on a person. My simple suggestion, is don’t look at that act which is committed but rather have mercy on that person, who finds it so hard in his or her heart to do good. Luke 6:37 states- "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

What we need is a whole dose of honesty. We need to be honest in everything we do. Now I know what I am saying here, but this does not imply that you go and tear a person apart with your honesty. Honesty also means keeping it simple. When God begins with a lesson-He does not expect you to give in a whole 100% on first attempt. No. God will make you walk a step at a time. He will not collect all your faults and bring them before you-so that you have no space to breathe. But what He will do is bring it one at a time. God never blames you, He just makes you right. He makes you capable to walk in His mighty presence.

William Shakespeare said it best, when he said ‘To thine own self be true and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.’

On the 22nd of October, after the mass, while I sat to talk with God, just for that 40 seconds, I felt Jesus move on the cross. At that moment I thought I was hallucinating. Then I felt all the love of Jesus and His humility. I never thought so much humility could ever exist; because I never thought you could ever measure humility by anything. I never will forget the feeling. It’s the sweetest feeling ever.

Now, after that day, when something becomes too much to bear, all I have to do is think of the ‘love of Christ,’ and everything just disappears. Philippians 4:13 states: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Love is the greatest thing in the world. How many of us can say, that we love someone or anybody for that matter unselfishly? The hardest part in this world is to give your life to someone? ‘What can I get in return?’ is the question that I hear often. I don’t believe in a give and take relationship? I don’t believe any relationship should dwell on that principle? If it does, you know the answer. It ain’t love.

Love is sacrifice. Sadly, this is something that is missing these days. The most beautiful part of love is definitely this and only this – SACRIFICE.

Think about it, JESUS loved us. Love was the motivating force in Jesus coming to this world. But who was Jesus coming into this world for? We are – absolutely nothing. But in God, we are His people – created by the Almighty God. So why is it that the Son of God, Jesus, must come to get Himself killed in a world full of people who don’t even understand what Love is?

God has given us a free will. We can choose what we want to. I choose God’s will.

Logically speaking-do you know everything about yourself? We may think we want something, but when troubles come…our opinions change. God is aware of our every thought process.

I love this chorus from the song ‘One moment in time’. It is from a Whitney Houston track. Here goes the paragraph that sums up what a dream feels like for me:

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me-I leave it to God
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity.

‘ONLY-LOVE’ is to eternity and this is my DREAM.

With all my love,
For Love Prevails!
AnitA.

 

“And what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe…”     Ephesians 1:19

God has been good to us. We’ve all seen God’s favor at work at different times in our lives. He has protected us and opened doors for us. But I believe that God wants to show us His unprecedented favor — that’s favor like we haven’t seen before.

In the verse above, Paul said that in the “ages to come” we would see “the immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness of God’s favor.” I believe that we are living with God’s unprecedented (unmatched) favour on us. You may have seen God’s favor in the past-but get ready - because you haven’t seen anything yet. What God has in your future is going to supersede all of your expectations-it is going to catapult you to a whole new level. He is going to show you His goodness in ways you’ve never seen before. Keep standing, keep praying, keep believing and keep GOD first. Watch as God works marvels in your life, it will be Above and Beyond all your expectations!

 

"And to know the love of Christ." Ephesians 3:19
No other subject did the mind of the apostle Paul dwell with so much delight, as on that of the redeeming love of Christ. It was the love of Christ that sustained him amid all his trials and persecutions, and enabled him to finish a glorious career. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, desires and prays that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith, that they be rooted and grounded in love.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn you."
A wonderful thought, everlasting love! Christ loves us, and His love is everlasting. From all eternity He thought upon our lost condition by nature; and how willingly He left the throne of glory to bring salvation to us. His love never had a beginning and it never has an end.

 

It was love that led Jesus to assume human nature, in order that He might suffer and die and thus atone for the sins of His people. Yes, love led Him to the garden of Gethsemane; love nailed Him to the cross; and love enabled Him to exclaim with His dying breath, "It is finished."

God’s love is too boundless for our feeble minds to grasp. None can comprehend its vastness: none can measure its immensity; and there is no language that can put in all the words in perfect details to describe it; human thought cannot fathom it; time cannot disclose its depths.

The love of Christ fills the soul with immortal joys. There is nothing so reviving to any one, as the sweet thought of Christ's love to him. There is no subject stored with such divine consolation, and heavenly joy, as that of the redeeming love–the love of the Son of God to a lost world. And what do we not owe to the love of Christ? All the comforts and happiness of life and all the joys of a blissful eternity flow from this love.

The love of Christ conveys a joy to the believer's heart, which is unspeakable and full of glory. The tongue cannot express the delight of the heart which arises from the manifestation of this love.

Oh to be made like the adorable Redeemer, and to praise Him throughout the countless age's of eternity, for the wonders of His redeeming love! If we could exclaim with the Psalmist, "Whom have I in heaven but you? There is none upon earth that I desire besides you!"

 

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21

Romans 8:35 states, "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." Notice the goal of this prayer is in verse 18: "[That you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge." Paul wanted for the Ephesians the power to know and understand how high and deep and wide and long is the love of Christ. He admits it is beyond human understanding.

Paul says that, to understand the love of Christ and prove the height and depth of it we should be rooted in it. That is, the roots of our lives should be sinking down ever more deeply into the love of Christ. That's where we got our life. And he said we should be founded on it. That is, the foundation of our lives should be spread out on the solid rock of the love of Christ for us.

The roots and the foundation of our life are firmly held by the depths of Christ's love.

God is calling us to new depths of love for each other and for those outside. If that is going to happen, something else must happen first (which is happening). Paul's prayer must be answered: This should be our earnest prayer that all of us grasp more and more what it is to be loved by Christ—so that nothing can separate us from His love. Then the power to love each other will flow freely.

How long is the love of Christ? The length refers to the duration of his love. He never gives up on His sheep. Jesus demonstrated His love in John chapter 13 by washing His disciples’ feet. Jesus’ love endures forever because He is the same, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever.

How long... So long that it lasts for all of eternity – you can’t get any longer than that! In such a rapidly changing world, it can feel as though we want to hang on to the way things used to be done. But God’s love lasts for all eternity. That is a time-frame way beyond what we can conceive or imagine.
God’s love in Christ is so wide that it embraces all. Let us ensure we remove every barrier that keeps us apart, so that we can increasingly show to others and experience for ourselves how wide the love of Christ is.

How deep is the love of Christ? Jesus gave up His glory of Heaven and came down all the way to Earth to show His love. He gave up His life on the cross to save us from the power of sin and death. The depth refers to the worst condition of fallen men. Jesus dying words on the Cross were, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23:34.

How deep... God’s love is so deep that is digs right down to the darkest recesses of our hearts, and it goes beneath any divisions people have placed in their lives or in the life of the church. God’s love is so deep that any distinctions between traditions or between ways of expressing our faith are meaningless in comparison to the impact of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf on the cross. Indeed, the whole reason Christ died on the cross – and rose again – was to wipe away the need for such divisions and distinctions.

How high is the love of Christ? It is higher than the heavens. He lifted us up from the pit of sin and seated us to the heavenly realms. It is truly an amazing grace given to us. We need to practice the love of Christ in our daily life.

How high... There is a mysterious quality to the love of Christ, which makes it hard to describe in words. It reaches right up to the highest heavens. Let us ensure in our prayers, in our worship, that we do not limit our expectations of the enormity of God’s grace at work within our day-to-day lives.

 

Jesus showed His love for all sinners and gave us His example how to love. Love is the essence of our faith. Every decision must be based on love because God is love. Our ultimate prayer goal is to filled with God’s fullness. We are not yet near the fullness of God. We have to grow spiritually until we reach God’s fullness.

 

 

HOLD ON TO THESE PROMISES OF GOD
“Be still, and know that I am God...”  Psalm 46:10

Remember, our battles are spiritual battles. When you choose to be still and know that God lives on the inside of you, you are putting yourself in a position of strength. Today, let His peace cover you. Remember, the battles you face belong to the Lord. Be still before Him so that you can see His hand of victory in every area of your life!

 

“...imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”  Hebrews 6:12

Remember, through faith and patience we inherit His promises. Trust His Word, trust His timing and trust that your answer is on its way!

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”  Psalm 100:4

Scripture says that we can come to His throne of grace and receive His mercy, because He loves us.

But notice today’s verse tells us that we should come with our praise, our thanksgiving. We are to enter His gates with an offering from our hearts of adoration because He is worthy!

Praise is the expression of gratefulness to God the Father for Who He is and all that He has done. Praise gets God’s attention. Praise is a powerful tool because God inhabits our praises! When we enter His presence the right way, He enters our circumstances, and when God shows up, the enemy must flee! Today, enter into His gates with thanksgiving and open the door for Him to move on your behalf!

“For we who have believed do enter that rest...”  Hebrews 4:3

There are times that have been set in our future, but we don’t know when. Your God ordained moment could be at just about any time. It could be a day from now, a month from now or two to three years from now. Trust that God is a God of IMPOSSIBLES!

Get a new perspective in life. Remember, the God ordained time is already in your future. Don’t let the negative thoughts talk you out of it. When you really believe, you have rest on the inside and you will be at peace. You know the answer is on the way. You trust that God is working behind the scenes.

Trust in God, and know that, what God has PROMISED God will DELIVER!

 

PRAYER: Abba Father, Your Will be done. Keep me always obedient and faithful to You I pray. Amen.
 

GOD

My People,

Hi! Had a holiday shifted from a Tuesday to a Saturday this week! Sorry for the delay with the post.  

On a cold chilly morning, as I walk down the staircase, I hear the church bells ring in with ‘Ave Maria’ and it’s the most fantastic sound of music to my ears.

Music does wonders to our mind. It has a way of calming us down. Now that depends on the kind of music you listen to. Personally I like listening to love songs, Country, ABBA and Bryan Adams. See there is no hate in these songs, no violent tendencies. I like my music to inspire me and to be the kind to uplift my spirit.

If you listen to the music that is revolting and abusive, you become kind of what you hear. And somewhere down the line, you begin to lose track of being able to judge the right from the wrong. Because if you listen to aggressive music you will never know that you’ve become what you love so much.

On the 11th of November, after the mass, I saw two lepers sitting on the road. As I neared them, I saw tears in one of the person’s eyes. It was enough to move my heart and make me long to do something. But sometimes you can only feel the pain.

I hear people use the word friend, for anyone and nothing wrong with that. But when you call someone friend, would you go backbiting them? That would be wrong, wouldn’t it? I think you got to keep the trust.  I think you got to be able to sacrifice-for the good of the other.

Jesus tells in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”  

When studying Psychology, I remember the lecturer’s first line she stated - that you must love yourself to be able to love anyone else. I was amused at what I heard. I thought ‘what’? Years later, I realized that she had a point. The first lesson, I learnt with God, is-He showed me how important I was to Him.

I thought my name was too common. So that’s what God started with first. He showed me that it meant ‘grace’- God’s Grace. Everybody has a calling in their life, mine is to love and be able to forgive with all my heart. What Jesus gave me so generously I cannot hold it back from someone else now, can I? When I pray the ‘Our Father' if I feel that I have any kind of resentment or anger towards anyone I pray with them in mind. And I feel the peace of God come back to me.

I don’t like fights. I don’t believe in blaming others for my shortcomings. I always believe that life is filled with opportunities. There is an entire universe out there. If you want to learn God is the most wonderful, gentle teacher ever. He will show you the way, He will teach you to trust Him and you will always recognize His voice. He will gently pick you up each and every-time you fall. He will wipe your eyes dry. And you will never ever walk alone! I’m telling you from what I know.

Don’t ever doubt HIS LOVE and don't ever be afraid! Jesus walks with you! You know He does! YOU KNOW!

May the Peace of JESUS be with you!

With all my love,

For Love Prevails,

AnitA.

"Grace" is God's unmerited favour. We endure "by His grace" and not our strength.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

1. 1 Corinthians 15:10 : 2 Cor. 11:23; 12:11; Col. 1:29
2. 1 Corinthians 15:10 : [ch. 3:6; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13]; See Matt. 10:20
Cross referen

Paul tells us it was "bestowed" (to present as a gift) and "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." We need God's grace to meet the trials of life. Romans 12:6 tells us grace is measured, meaning the heavier the burden, the harder the task, the greater the need, the more God supplies grace. When we depend upon GOD and not ourselves, "He giveth more grace." James 4:6. WE CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH all the dangers, problems, disappointments, hardships and needs of all kinds WITHOUT THE ABUNDANT GRACE OF GOD BESTOWED ON US! In 2 Corinthians 11-12 Paul describes a difficult life and his experience for which God gave him a "thorn in the flesh." He prayed about it three times and got his answer back from God, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE."  

Paul has several choices for the thorn...

• Fight it in the flesh.
• Blame God with doing Him wrong.
• Become bitter and give up, or as he did,
• "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

The reason many of us become bitter is because we fight in the flesh. The grace of God influences our speech and strenghens us. We need to trust God for the "Grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 states-Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

James 4:6 states-But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Sure signs that one is not living in the Grace of God are anger, bitterness, resentfulness, seeking revenge, unkindness, coldness, unfaithfulness and blaming God with their condition.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthinans 10:13

1 Corinthinans 10:13 tells us that God will "Make a way to escape" in our time of tribulations. We look for it at the "Throne of Grace." May God's grace be upon us all. May we never loose hope, fully knowing that we’ll never lack help!

Paul begins and ends all his 13 letters in the New Testament with a blessing of grace-something like "Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Or: "Grace be with you."

Grace is the only word that is common to all those blessings. Grace is something that comes from God.

All we have is from Him and through Him and to Him. Paul says in Romans 11:34–35, we can't give a gift to Him so that we could be repaid. All our gifts are His already.

Grace is the overflow of God's free goodness and power and wisdom. Saying that God is a God of grace is a way of saying that God is God—that He is the infinite and all-sufficient. When goodness comes from Him, it comes freely. It can come no other way. Therefore all His goodness is grace.

All the grace Paul has in mind when he blesses at the beginning and end of all his letters is future grace. May God do something gracious now. May God go on being gracious to you, starting now. We need to believe in this future grace. We need to be confident of it and trust in it.

Paul expresses what it is like to live faith in future grace-1 Corinthians 15:10: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not in vain, but I worked harder than any of them. Yet it was not I but the grace of God which is with me."

Paul says, lived by faith in future grace. At the beginning of the letters he says, "Grace to you," and at the end of his letters he says, "Grace be with you."

Paul says: through the hearing of the Word of God grace is coming to you. Paul says, "The Lord be with you all." This is what it means that grace will be with you. The Lord will be graciously with you, by His Spirit.

1 Peter 5:8–14 states:  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

If God called you to His glory, He's going to get you to His glory. A little suffering in between is not going to stop Him.

The meaning of being a Christian is that we have been effectually called to eternal glory. This is Peter's way of saying what Paul said in Romans 8:30: Whom God calls He also justifies, and whom He justifies He also glorifies. Peter simply says, The One who called you to His glory will get you to His glory: He will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It's a promise.

Peter says, you don't start with being qualified. You start with the God of all grace. Grace precedes qualification. You may have this promise freely, if you will believe in this God of all grace.

And he gives one last encouragement to believe it in verse 11: "To Him—to the God of all grace—be dominion forever and ever. Amen." Dominion means superior strength. God has dominion over the devil. He is stronger than Satan. Therefore when GOD promises to successfully get us through to glory, He can do it and will do it. Dominion belongs to the Lord.

So when Satan roars with his suffering in your face and threatens to devour you, say, "The God of all grace has called me to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, and after I have suffered a little while from your claws and fangs, He will perfect and confirm and strengthen and establish me. He is a God of all grace. He is a God of absolute dominion. GOD has called me to glory and He will get me to glory."

That's how to resist him firm in your faith. Take this promise and Believe it. Fight with it. Persevere with it. It's yours free from the God of all grace.

Every suffering means a lesson to be learned. Every successful lesson learned is also a good thing we earned in terms of our faith and trust in the Lord.

Now, don’t tell that we have a big problem that we can not handle. Everything seems so big if we lack in faith. But when we have that complete trust and faith in the Lord, we can see that everything is so small and none is so hard.

Forgiveness brings healing. It sets someone free from the chains, burdens and years of bondage. Have you hated and begrudged someone for weeks, months and years? Set them free, find relief for yourself, and make brothers of your enemies.

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your Redeemer. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

To see and understand and to learn from what you understand is something else. But to act on what you learn is all that really matters.

CONCLUSION: Most of the times we think all hope is gone. There is nothing left in life for us but I want to assure that there is a lot in store for you from God if you will have faith and pray to Him. What you are going through is to make you stronger.

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY!

REMEMBER: Joseph was sold by his brothers; his master’s wife lied against him and he was put in prison by his master. It was against all odds that he was the one to interpret the dream Pharaoh had but the bible tells us that God was with Him and showed favour on him. Joseph was in charge of all those people held in prison. Have you ever heard of anyone put in prison and put in charge of all the people held in prison? No, but the Lord did it for Joseph because Joseph believed in Him. Though it was against all odds things got better. After he interpreted the dream he was put in charge of the palace and people submitted to his orders. Genesis-41:40. Genesis-39:23 says The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did, Isn’t that great? Watch this; the Lord made him (reign) in prison and out of prison. You might be reigning though you are in trouble but you cannot see it. What you are going through is to make you stronger. Believe and pray to the Lord and He will surely show you kindness and favour just as He did for Joseph.
Isaiah 40:31 states-but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

PRAYER: Abba Father, Your Holy Will be done. Keep me always obedient and faithful to You. Never let go!

PROMISE: Date: 17^th November, 2012. (Daniel & Emmanuel).

God Will make a WAY . . . . Part-2. . . .

Life begins with a Heartbeat……..

I love listening to Country. To understand country and what the songs are about one would need to have a softer side to their heart that yearns (desires) to be in the green valleys and yonder (beyond).

I grew up knowing and loving country music. You can put up all your collections together, but country music can never be compared to any other. Its simple, it’s heartfelt and it always has a message. Aint nothing better than that?

So why am I writing about country music. It’s Simple. On the 2nd of November, after the 7:30 p.m. mass, I heard the choir practise to the hymn of 'Why me Lord?’

All through the good times and the hard times I kept singing Kris Kristofferson’s version of ‘Why me Lord’.

lord help me Jesus,
i've wasted it so help me Jesus,
i know what i am,
but now that i know,
that i needed you so help me Jesus,
my souls in your hand,

This is the paragraph that I could sing by myself. I would sing this in my hardest of times. Jesus never left me for a second. When the pain would get to the extreme, and my heart could take no more, I would sing calling to Jesus.

As humans we can be pretty selfish-only to see our side of the pain. Pardon me for being blunt, but some of us don’t have the time, to want to understand others. And some of us don’t even care, because it is somebody else. The attitude is-if it’s not about me, why get bothered?

And some others, do the best they can, they try.

But God is not like us. See He thought about us even before time. He sent His only Son Jesus. Do you think, from Jesus point of view, praying (in the garden of Gethsemane)- to His Father-Who is the Powerhouse, and who has chosen His only son to be crucified-could be in any way easy-or could it be the easiest of prayers? No. Every son, expects that when His Father, is in postition to come rescue Him. But here is Jesus, knowing what His Fathers will is, knowing all that is to happen prays to His Father, and knows the answer and still chooses to pray. Many times our pride comes before us. We need to imitate Jesus.

Do you think that for Jesus to come as a human-was the easiest of missions? Do you think that for Jesus it was easy to choose to do His Fathers will knowing that His journey was-one of turmoil, humiliation, mock treatment and one that would end with being treated as the worst of criminals?

Think for a moment, how difficult it is to leave a prestigious position and be any one of the commoners? If it is so difficult to think, how really hard it must be in action?

I have heard people really talk big, but when action is required, I watch them run the marathon.

I shudder to think of how Jesus, was whipped? Do you know when you have an open wound, how when anything and everything you do seems to hurt that part so much? It bruises that part of the skin even more as it is wounded and even more susceptible (prone) to more hurting. Jesus was flogged over and over and each time on the same wound over and over. Would you imagine the pain?

Jesus hurts when we hurt, He hurts when we hurt others. We are all connected. We all have one thing in common. A HEARTBEAT. . . .

I know change is a vital part of life. I am open to change. The easiest part is speaking it-but really when You keep God first place-Change is what GOD brings about in your life with all His Wisdom. I avoided waking early in the mornings for work because that did not favour an asthma condition. But now I get to be with Jesus every evening. And my health is getting better.

Would you take a walk with Jesus? Would you understand Him? JESUS waits for you always to the end of time.

maybe lord,
i can show someone else,
what i've been through myself,
on my way back to you,

Jesus, my soul's in your hands

We all have heartbeats.

Every heartbeat of mine, sweet Jesus belongs to YOU!

Life begins and ends with a heartbeat. Question is in this lifetime what does your heartbeat say?

God’s already made plans to see to it that all of your needs are met! Every problem, every circumstance, He already has a plan for you to work it out. Why? Because of His great love for you!

Think about the biblical examples and God’s providence. Moses’ mamma didn’t put him in a basket of the Nile River by accident. God knew that Pharaoh’s daughter would be coming along at just the right time! He didn’t ask Abraham to offer up Isaac without already having planned for a ram to be stuck in the bushes for the sacrifice. God instructed Noah to build an ark long before it ever rained so that he would have a ship in which to save his family. There are no surprises with God! He knows the pressures you’ll face long before you ever get there. And He also has the answers!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

You may be facing a dead end right now — but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, He will make a way.

It will become more understandable as you head down the path He sets before you.

Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day”. One day you will stand and view the big picture and you’ll see God’s purpose behind the path He specifically chose for you.

Be patient. God knows what He’s doing. God knows what is best for you. He can see the end result. You can’t. All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays — all the things that make you ask “why” — will one day be clear in the light of God’s love.

But for now, lets learn to trust God.

Isaiah 43:16 Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters...
God introduces Himself as the God who makes a way. 

So let’s start with the context of the passage before moving on to what it means for you and me.

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters... Isaiah 43:15-16

Isaiah, the prophet foresaw a time of great difficulty for the Israelites – a time when they would be captives to their enemies. As the years in exile became many decades, the great question to the Israelites was ‘Is there a way out of this difficult time?’ ‘Is there a way home?’ It was to people feeling completely hopeless whose faith was reaching breaking point that God stepped in and spoke.

And as He did He had to re-introduce Himself. Listen to what God says ‘I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel-Your King.’ He begins by reminding them that He is YAHWEH – the great I AM! Maybe you have forgotten that the one Who is on your side is an all-powerful, ever present God ‘who makes a way’? Israel sure had. God reminded them that He is the Creator of Israel. Israel, God’s people, didn’t come into being by accident. It was through the plan and purpose of the eternal God. So the Lord was saying to them in so many words ‘I created you. You are mine. Do you really think that I am going to forget you or let you go?’

‘...Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters...’

In verse 16, God reminded the people that He makes a way through the sea. God is reminding them of their past and in particular of a time when there previously seemed like there was no way out. It was the time of the exodus from Egypt when the Israelites faced certain death!

When the Israelites began their journey, God specifically lead them in a path where they would avoid trouble and confrontation. Exodus 13:17-18 tells us ‘When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.’
Did you notice that God made things easy for you when you started to believe? It is often the way as we take our first steps in the Lord. As God did for the nation of Israel as a whole, so He does for His people today.

As Israel’s journey continues, their God ordained path became more difficult and came to a virtual dead end with the sea in front of them and the armies of Egypt behind them! Yet this was all part of the plan of God for He said to Moses ‘They are to encamp by the sea.' Exodus14:1-3
Your journey also will lead to some over-whelming situations where there is no hope – leave it to the action of God. It’s all part of the walk with God.

With no way back and no way forward, God does what God does best - The impossible. He made a way where, naturally speaking, there was no way. ‘Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."... Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.’ Exodus 14:13-14, 21-22

So this is what God wanted the people of Israel in the days of Isaiah to remember. He is STILL the God who makes a way through the sea. Let’s break this thought down a bit further.

The Path of God leads to the Waters

To comfort others you first must have been comforted yourself. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 But all of us will face the waters at some stage. The verse earlier on in Isaiah chapter 43:2 says ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’

The period of difficulty is not forever. Israel had to walk through the waters but they kept walking. They kept progressing forward. And when the mighty waters rise in your life, you too will get through because God is the one who gets you through.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

God instructs His people to forget the former things and not to dwell on the past. God wants us to remember the past so that we can bring to mind the previous deliverances and learn from our former mistakes.

We remember... we look forward to what God has promised He will do when He returns and gain hope from that. God was telling them that He is going to do something new and amazing for them in their day. No longer would the children of Israel just have to look back to the stories they had heard from their youth of God’s deliverance during the exodus from Egypt. No. They were going to experience something amazing themselves. He would make a way so that they could return from their exile and provide streams even in the desert. God is alive and interested in the lives of His people - then and now.

You may be in the place right now where you can see the mighty waters rising around you. The trials and difficulties of this life may be coming against you in way that seems like there is no way out. If that is so then please remember that God is  The One who ‘makes a way’. May you too proclaim His praise as you trust Him once again.

There are two very big things you ought to think of every time you consider the story of Joseph and his brothers: *you are loved; and *there is hope!

The story of Joseph teaches us how God transforms pain by perseverance, how He transforms hurt into hope, and sorrow into success.

Joseph’s brothers carried their guilt around for 22 years and it simply wasn’t necessary. God doesn’t want you to try and "manage" your sin. He wants you to seek His forgiveness.

God will make a way by being with you.

Acts 7:9 These sons of Jacob were very jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him.

"God was with him," that’s the key to Joseph’s endurance and resilience. Hard times come to all of our lives but to have God with you in the midst of those hard times makes all the difference in the world!

The presence of God is a tremendously powerful and a wonderful thing!
That’s what God is for us in the tests of life! He is our friend who stands along side of us!
Joseph went through some very difficult tests. Not only did his own brothers turn their backs on him, he was also falsely accused by his master’s wife in Egypt and thrown in prison. But no matter how dark and difficult his path, Joseph wasn’t alone in his suffering. The Bible says, "God was with him!"

You need to practice thinking about the presence of God in your life. You need to remember that if you are His child there is never a time when He is not with you.
Hebrews 13:5 God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you." God is there – right there with you – every step of the way! Nothing can keep Him from walking by your side.

God will make a way by giving you favor, wisdom and opportunity.
The Bible not only says that "God was with Joseph" in Acts 7:9, it says this about Joseph in verse 10:
Acts 7:10  God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of all the affairs of the palace.
"God gave him favor…" "God gave him unusual wisdom," and then the Pharaoh "appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of all the affairs of the palace." That’s how God made a way for Joseph. He gave him favor, wisdom and opportunity.

And God is still doing this today for His people! God makes a way by giving these same things to you.

His forgiveness – His presence – His favour – His Wisdom is what you and I need all our lives. God will make a WAY!

Can you trust God in the fire tonight?  Does anybody know that not only will God deliver you from the fire but He will stand right there in the midst of the fire with you?

Job 13:15 said “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face”. In other words if He take my life, He gave it to me If I have to suffer He can deliver me. Job said yet will I trust in Him but then He said I will maintain my own ways before Him. Job said I’m going to keep on serving Him. Job said if I die, He is able if I live He is able, but what ever happens I’m going to trust Him with all that I am with all that I have. Amen, Amen and Amen.

CONCLUSION: The peace of God is the deep calm. He sees the end from the beginning and views the needs of man from the position of unlimited resources and capabilities. He perceives the needs of His children with both compassion and confidence, for all things are possible for Him.

REMEMBER: The devils against anything and anyone who is for righteousness. He opposes our progress or spiritual growth. While we don’t need to pay an excessive amount of attention to him, we do need to understand his strategies so we can live victoriously.

The Word of God is a powerful weapon we must use to overcome the enemy. We don’t have to strive to get victory – we already have it in Christ.

Here are some great scriptures that confirm this truth:

1 John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Colossians 1:13 - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Luke10:19 - I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Our protection is the Word of God. We must love and obey it and use it against the enemy when he comes against us. Just as Jesus responded to the devil by speaking God’s Word, we need to speak out the Word of God against the enemy’s lies. As you do, the truth will set you free!

In the words of Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

PRAYER: Abba Father, everything I am is yours. Keep me always obedient and faithful I pray. Amen.