Rejoicing Always

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.- 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

             God wants all of us to be joyful always. Paul wrote the letters such as Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon which are referred to as Prison Epistles during his Roman imprisonment. He also told the Philippi church to rejoice always when he was in prison. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice - Philippians 4:4. Let us rejoice always as God is in control of all our situations.             

               When Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching the gospel, they started to pray and sing hymns to God. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them - Acts 16:25. Instead of complaining to God about their situation, they sang praises to God. May our heart always rejoice and praise God. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24.

               Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit and it comes from the Holy Spirit. The will of God for us is to rejoice always. Let us count all circumstances in our life as joy with the power of the Spirit. The joy of the Lord is your strength - Nehemiah 8:10. As everything in our life work for our good, let us rejoice always. I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation - Habakkuk 3:18.

                                           

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Let us be joyful always. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Simon's Obedience To God

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch" - Luke 5:4.

                    Simon offered his boat willingly for Jesus to teach the word of God to the people. After teaching the people, Jesus said Simon to launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a catch. But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” - Luke 5:5. Even though Simon was an experienced fisherman, he obeyed God and followed His instructions with an act of faith.

                   They caught a great number of fish when they let down the net into deep water as told by Jesus. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink - Luke 5:6. The boat that was given by Simon to Jesus for preaching was filled with fish. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you - Luke 6:38.  

               When Jesus called Simon to catch men, he left everything and followed Jesus. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him - Luke 5:10,11. When we obey God and follow His instructions, we will never be disappointed. He will turn all our failures into blessings. Let us always trust, obey and follow God. 

                                               

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to trust You and obey Your voice at all situations. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

God's People Will Never Be Ashamed

My people shall never be put to shame - Joel 2:26.

                     We are chosen by God to be His people. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth - Deuteronomy 7:6. For He is our God and we are the people of his pasture - Psalm 95:7. As we are the people of God, we will never be put to shame in our life.

                     When we look to God, our faces will be radiant and we will never be put to shame. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame - Psalm 34:5. God will not allow us to be ashamed when we wait on Him with hope. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed - Psalm 25:3. Those who wait for Me with hope will not be put to shame - Isaiah 49:23. Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You - Psalm 25:20. As we believe God, we will never be ashamed. Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame- Romans 10:11.

                     Joseph faced lot of trials in his life. But God never put him to shame. He blessed him and lifted him as the Governor of Egypt at the right time. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame - Isaiah 54:4. Let us not fear about anything as God will save us from all our enemies and we will not be ashamed forever. But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever - Isaiah 45:17.

                                                              

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to put our trust upon You so that we will never be put to shame. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Preserve Your Soul

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul - Psalm 121:7.

                 We do everything well to take care of our body and to protect ourselves. But it is very important to safeguard our soul. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? - Mark 8:36. When we guard our soul like how we guard our body, thorns and snares will be far from us in our life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them - Proverbs 22:5.

                  Let us praise the Lord with our soul for all His benefits in our life. Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits - Psalm 103:1,2. To preserve our soul, let us put on the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, shield of faith, the gospel of peace on your feet, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God every day. Let us possess our soul by our patience. By your patience possess your souls - Luke 21:19.        

                Let us calm and quiet our soul like a weaned child. Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me - Psalm 131:2. Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him - Psalm 62:1. May God preserve our soul to be blameless till His coming. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

                                                                    

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to preserve our soul. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

God Surrounds Us

With favor You will surround him as with a shield - Psalm 5:12.

                God surrounds us like a shield and protects us. He surrounds us from all sides and keeps us safe like how the mountains surround Jerusalem. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever - Psalm 125:2. Nothing can harm us as God is always surrounding us. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them - Psalm 34:7.

                 When the Egyptians pursued Israel, the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them and protected them so that the Egyptians were not able to come near the Israelites all night. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: he took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people - Exodus 13: 21, 22.

                God is protecting us from enemies like how He protected Israelites by the pillar of fire and cloud. He is a wall of fire around us and glory in our midst. For I, says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst’ - Zechariah 2:5. We are very safe and secure as God is surrounding us and His presence is always with us. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance - Psalm 32:7.

                                                 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We thank You for always surrounding us and protecting us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Redeem The Time

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil - Ephesians 5: 15, 16.

                Time is precious. We must use our time wisely. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time - Colossians 4:5. Each day is a gift of God. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it - Psalm 118:24. Let us rejoice and thank God for each day graciously given to us by God. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom - Psalm 90:12.

            Set aside time to spend with God. The more time we spend with God, the better we will be able to hear His voice guiding and directing us. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up - Psalm 5:3. Pray without ceasing and spend time in thanking and praising God. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ -Ephesians 5: 19, 20.

                Let us spend time in preaching the gospel as God’s commission for us is to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear - 1 Peter 3:15. As the coming of the Lord is near, let us make the best use of time.  And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work - Revelation 22:12.                                        

                                                                                                 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to redeem the time wisely. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Believe And See The Glory of God

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” - John 11:40.

               Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He did not go immediately to heal him but instead stayed in the place where He was for two more days. When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” - John 11:4.

                 By the time Jesus got there, Lazarus was buried and he had already been in the tomb for four day. When Jesus told them to take away the stone, Mary reminded Him that he had been there for four days. Jesus said to her that if she believes, she would see the glory of God. He raised Lazarus from dead for the glory of God. Lazarus was restored by God for Mary and Martha. See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? - Jeremiah 32:27. 

               Sometimes we may not understand what is happening in our life and think that everything had come to an end. But God is always in control and His timing is always perfect. He can bring life to all our dead and hopeless situations as nothing is too hard for Him. God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did – Romans 4:17. Let us just believe and see the glory of God. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith - 1 John 5:4.

                                                                                              

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to believe and see Your glory in our life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.