A devotional article to share...

Hi People,

An article extract from www.gracewalk.com to share with you guys. Stay in the GRACE of God ya...


It’s a strange thing to see the affinity that Christians often have for self condemnation. An attitude of self condemnation is nothing less than an assault on the finished work of Christ by seeking to punish ourselves for our own sins. To punish ourselves by self loathing is to imply that when Jesus declared, “It is finished,” He was wrong. “There is still something left for me to do – detest myself,” this attitude of unbelief insists.

Self condemnation is a sacrament to the Christian legalist. It is one way that he seeks to atone for his sins. His rationale may be conscious or unconscious, but it suggests that if he is sorry enough; if he feels badly enough; if he executes enough emotional self-flagellation, and offers up the sacrifice of genuine self contempt, then God will forgive him.

While his demeanor appears to be one of contrition, in reality his attitude demonstrates the worst kind of pride, which is both gaudy and despicable. He actually thinks that there is something he can do to bring on forgiveness. His self centered, pay your own way with the currency of guilt attitude, is an affront to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

He talks a talk that sounds like a godly man to many, but his licentious loathing of himself betrays a brazen and adulterous affair with the law. He may have died to the law so that he could be joined to Jesus Christ, (see Romans 7:4) but his insistence on wallowing in the bed of self judgement with the law suggests a religious hedonism that brings him great pleasure in the darkest places of his flesh.

Jesus came to “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” says the Bible. If He didn’t succeed at that, then our hopes are all in vain. If He did succeed, then any attempt to add another word to what the cross has spoken by allowing ourselves to accept self condemnation is an attempt to dilute, and thus negate, its power.

Have you sinned against God by allowing yourself to entertain self condemnation about your sins, past or present? Not only is it unnecessary, but it is a sin itself. Renounce your sin and run into the loving arms of your heavenly Father, giving up both your sins and your self condemnation to Him. Lay it all at His feet and allow Him to simply love you. Judgement day for you is finished. It was over at the cross when Jesus declared it to be so. God has nothing to say to you now other than words of love and acceptance. Don’t struggle against Him, but simply accept the truth.

There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You’re free from judgment. Embrace His forgiveness, rest in His acceptance, and get on with life In Jesus Christ.

Are you seeing your prayers answered?

This was what Pastor Lovleen shared during prayer meeting yesterday.

Blockages to answered prayer
Mark 9:14-29

Prayer answered = as you pray, God will help you to see why you are going through it
* prayer answered is not just having it your way (yes, sometimes God gives what you prayed for) BUT seeing God's will

In this passage in the Bible, there are two groups of people.

1. The boy's father
"But if You can" (verse 22) = the problem!
#1 blockage: doubts and unbelief
Do you doubt the ability of God? Of course God can!

You must have the faith to believe for your prayers to be answered.
**A person who truly believes will set no limit on what God can do.

Evaluate and check yourself:
How many times have you prayed and then went on doing your own things? Are you relying on yourself?

2. The disciples (verse 29)
#2 blockage: lack of prayer
When there is a lack of prayer, our problems become bigger than God, we go our own way (for which we have to face the consequences) and we don't have the authority.

Don't let 'no time' be an excuse!

Some things require us to shower with a lot of prayerbecause we need to be in the will of God!


Are you seeing your prayers answered? Do you see God's leading in your life?
Evaluate - what is stopping your prayers from being answered?

Revelation

Today I shall talk about revelation. What is a revelation? A quick search for the word "revelation" online yields explanations as such:

"an enlightening or astonishing disclosure" - Wordnet

"The act of disclosing or discovering to others what was before unknown to them; appropriately, the disclosure or communication of truth to men by God himself, or by his authorized agents, the prophets and apostles." - Webster 1828 Dictionary

"an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen" - Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

The word revelation comes from the word "reveal". To reveal is to make known something to someone which he or she previously had not known. Revelation is powerful; when used by God, allows us to see great truths, to make new breakthroughs and to grow stronger in our relationship with Him.

Today I will talk about the revelation of the Lord Christ Jesus.

The Lord Christ revealed Himself as the Christ through revelation by the Holy Spirit. One of the most well known revelations must be the one in which Peter, then called Simon, proclaimed that Jesus is Christ. It was a big change, so big that even his name was changed from Simon to Peter. Let us take a look at some instances of revelation of the Lord:

1. Peter's revelation of the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20):

Jesus told him, "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it". Talk about a life-changing revelation! From being Simon the Fisherman, he is now "the rock" that the "gates of Hades will not overcome"! And to him was given the "keys to the kingdom of heaven"! And what's more, he was given all power that "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven"! And we all know that Peter went on to be one of the first leaders of the early church.

2. Mary Magdelene's revelation of the resurrected Christ (John 20:10-18)

Mary was devastated when the Lord had died and been laid in the tomb. She sat there crying, having lost her most dear. When she saw that Jesus was not there she was probably even more devastated - her Lord had died and now she couldn't even find His body. In verse 14 we see that even when Jesus appeared, "she did not realize that it was Jesus". However what happened next was a moment of revelation: Jesus said just one word, "Mary." and her eyes were opened! The Lord had called her by name, and she, suddenly realizing who Jesus was, cried out "Rabboni!" and then went off later telling everybody, "I have seen the Lord!" This was a revelation by which Mary saw the resurrected Christ and all the promises fulfilled!

3. Thomas's revelation of the resurrected Christ (John 20:24-28)

When Jesus was crucified, Thomas was so sure He was dead that he did not believe the other disciples when they told him they had seen the Lord. However Jesus, being that loving God, appeared to him and showed him the truth. Then Thomas, in that instant, saw the truth and exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!". Words may not be enough to paint the picture of what happened then, but word has it that Thomas went on to be a missionary in India and gave his life for the Lord. How great was that revelation that motivated Thomas to do that!

4. Stephen's revelation of the Son of Man (Acts 7:54-60)

Some time after Jesus had returned to Heaven to be with the Father, Stephen spoke to an assembly of the Sanhedrin regarding the Christ. As he spoke, the Jews grew angrier and angrier, eventually becoming so worked up that "they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him". Stephen however at this time, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this, the Jews stoned him and killed him. Stephen, though he may have known that he would probably be killed, did not run away nor take back his words, but he had the revelation of Christ at the right hand of God! And did not Jesus say, "In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."(Matthew 26:64)? Stephen received a revelation, one that made him proclaim, "I SEE THE HEAVENS OPEN!!! AND THE SON OF MAN IS STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD!!!!!"

There must be more revelations from God than could ever be written down, and these are just some examples from Scripture. Revelation is powerful. Revelation is essential. We all must have revelations in order that we may grow closer to the Lord, in spirit and in truth. Let us all seek to have revelations, of the Cross, of Christ sacrificed, of Christ the Lamb of God and of Christ resurrected. Let us pray that the Lord will reveal these things to us, the mystery of mysteries that is the Lord Christ Jesus.

Father, today as I come before you, I give you all glory and praise for your great works. With your mighty hand you have created the heavens and the earth; by your great love you have given salvation to all men. I seek your face, to see the glory that created me, the love that sacrificed for me. I pray that you will reveal to me the mystery of Christ, for it was to your pleasure that you provided this wonderful thing that no man can fathom. This day, I pray for revelation, just like the ones our fathers of old were given, and that by these my eyes will be opened to your truth. I ask this in the Name of the LORD Most High, Christ Jesus our Saviour, Amen.

Faith

here's the part from 'the land before time' which justin's post mentioned!

Faith

My reading this week, both the Bible and other material, brought me to the area of faith in the Lord. The passage in particular is Hebrews chapter 11, of which I shall post a few verses here:

"They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance...If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" - Hebrews 11:13, 15-16

Sometimes things may get difficult; we spend each day doing activities and waiting, not seeing the end nor even a vision of any sort. We wonder why are we doing the things we are, though we persuade ourselves that it is for God. We know that God has a good plan, but it just seems to take so long that we are not so sure about it anymore. We lose our motivation to carry on, and we feel like just giving up.

However God has a perfect timing, and as He assures us, the end is there, though we may not see it. What we need is faith in this ending, that we will surely reach it one day. Here are some quotes from the movie, "The Land Before Time". In the movie, the world is dieing, and the dinosaurs are moving in search of the Great Valley, where things are still good, by walking in the direction of the sunset. Littlefoot is a young dinosaur which was hatched along the journey and is talking to his mother:

Mum: The Great Valley is filled with green food like this. More than you can ever eat, and more fresh cool water than you can ever drink. It is a wonderful beautiful place where we can live happily with many more of our own kind.
Littlefoot: Gee. When will we get there?
Mum: The bright circle must pass over us many times, and we must follow it each day to where it touches the ground.
Littlefoot: Have you ever seen the Great Valley?
Mum: No.
Littlefoot: Well, how do you know it's really there?
Mum: Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart.

Well, there we have it. I want to see the end with my heart. I need to see the end with my heart. It's the only way I can keep walking, because otherwise where am I heading?

Here's a short prayer that perhaps we can all say:

Heavenly Father, I pray, give me faith, that faith that will allow me to persevere through all things. Give me that faith that my fathers had in the ages long past. Give me faith, that I may see your promises, and welcome them from a distance, though they are far away. For I know this faith will see me through; by faith I will walk the path, not seeing the end yet knowing that it is there. Therefore I will keep walking, knowing one day I will arrive. May I never lose this faith, for you are steadfast, O Lord. This I pray in the name of Christ our Lord Jesus, Amen.


In God's love