[ecko_quote source="Jeremiah 33:3"] Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know [/ecko_quote]
The prophet Jeremiah was not a popular man. When he declared the truth, God had given him - that Judah would soon start seventy long years in captivity - people threw him into prison.
Yet in such dire circumstances, Jeremiah learned something profound about prayer. Jeremiah 33:1-3 says: "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 'Thus says the LORD who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."'"
Prayer is a significant part of a vital relationship with God. It is not for some special spiritual elite; it is for you. Three principles within these verses can transform your old notions about prayer into something fresh and new.
First, God says, "Call to Me." He wants to hear from you. His all-loving, omnipotent heart desires to hear your innermost thoughts and feelings. He wants to hear from you in the hard times and also when life is going on smoothly. In fact, your sweetest times of prayer happen when you come before Him simply to praise and worship and give thanks for what He has done.
Second, God says, "I will answer you." Do you believe that? Perhaps you once asked God for something He did not give you, and since then, you have harboured secret worries that He did not hear or did not care to answer. But God Himself says to you, "I will answer you." That answer may not take the form you anticipate or come when you desire, but He will respond. He might say "yes," "no," or "wait." You may not understand the reasons behind His answer - but you can trust that they are best for you (Rom. 8:28).
Third, God says, "I will show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." You have finite wisdom and understanding; God knows all. He knows the big picture; you see merely a tiny piece. When you ask Him to guide you, He works to direct you as a part of His higher vision and calling.
If you take that first step of calling out to Him, prayer can become an important part of a dynamic relationship with almighty God. Do it today - He waits to hear your voice.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; Dr Charles Stanley
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[ecko_quote source="John 15:15"] I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me [/ecko_quote]
Years ago, there was an old German Professor whose beautiful life was a marvel to his students. Some of them decided to find out by resolving the secret of it; so, one of their student's hid in the study room where the old Professor spent his evenings.
It was late, when the Professor came in. He was exhausted, but he sat down and spent an hour with his Bible. Then he bowed his head in secret prayer and finally by closing the Book of books, he said,
“Well, Lord Jesus, we are on the same old terms”.
To know Him is life’s highest attainment and at all costs, every Christian should strive to be “on the same old terms with Him”.
The reality of Jesus comes because of a secret prayer, and a personal study of the Bible that is devotional and understanding. Christ becomes more real to the one who persists in the cultivation of His presence.
It's simple. Intimacy is close or confidential friendship. And God, far from making it mysterious or unobtainable, has sought that kind of relationship with us from the beginning: "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). He revealed Himself to the patriarchs and prophets; He led the Israelites in the wilderness by cloud and by fire.
God’s ultimate invitation to fellowship with Him was in sending His Son to pay the price for our sin so that we who believe could be called His children. To seal His presence in us, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
God continually invites us to respond to His love and a desire to have fellowship with Him. He longs to love us because only He can, and He wants us to know Him in all His fullness. His commandment to us is "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Dt. 6:5). He wants us to be intimate with Him.
Those saints—past and present—who have enjoyed exceptional closeness with God are first of all those who have deeply longed for it. God promised in Jer. 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
David’s longing for God was insatiable. Even when enemies pursued him, he did not seek deliverance or a change in circumstances; he sought God.
A desire to only know the Lord and His character must be our motive for intimacy. If all I seek are His gifts or whet He can do for me; then I have a self-centered relationship based on God’s "performance" in meeting my perceived needs. Instead, my desire to seek Him must be based on a longing just to know Him, to fellowship with Him, to enjoy His company.
Someone once said that "The essence of holiness is not that we are perfect, but that we never stop pursuing it." If I truly want to draw closer to God, then my heart’s desire will be to please the Lord and to bring Him glory in all that I do.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; Cynthia Heald-Bible.ORG; Steams in the Desert
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[ecko_quote source="Roman 6:1-2"]Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? [/ecko_quote]
Evangelist Reinhart Bonnke said, “Cool or casual Christianity will accomplish nothing. Our nation’s most urgent need is the flaming message of the cross --'Now' and not at our leisure.”
The story is told about a young boy who was failing in mathematics. So, his parents sent him to a special evening class at the local Christian academy. To their amazement, the boy began to get straight A’s. When asked, what made the difference, the boy replied, “Those people don’t fool around about maths. On the wall, they have a picture of some guy nailed to a plus sign!” Do we see the cross of Christ as a plus or a minus?
Galatians 2:20: 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. Do we see the cross of Christ as a positive or a negative? Crucifixion means that I choose to die, not physically, but in a more abstract sense. Yet this death is just as real as a physical crucifixion.
A Christian is dead to sin. Sin has no control over a corpse. Temptations can present itself enticingly and persistently, yet a corpse will not yield! Before you were a Christian you were keenly susceptible to sin. Sin held you in its grip. When you become a Christian, your 'old self' has died. Now, sin has no more control over you than temptation has over a corpse. You have died to sin. You can still sin, but you are no longer in sin’s power. If you choose to succumb to temptation, you are rejecting the freedom from sin that Christ gained for you by His death.
God’s grace(power) is further motivation for us to resist sin. It was God’s grace that enabled Jesus to endure mocking, beating, and crucifixion at the hands of those whom He had come to save. It was grace that led God to forgive our sins despite our rebellion against Him. It is this same grace that God expresses toward us each time we sin against Him. Knowing this grace, we cannot continue to practice sin (Roman 6:1-2). We cannot presume upon God’s forgiveness by committing further offenses.
You are no longer the helpless victim of your sin. The victory has already been won. God does not have to win a victory over your sin. He already has! You need only to apply His victory to each area of your life. If there is a sinful habit, an ungodly attitude, or an unrighteous relationship that you need to put to death, claim the victory of Christ’s resurrection today. Then you will be free to experience the abundant life that God intends for you.
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[ecko_quote source="2 Timothy 2:2"]You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others [/ecko_quote]
A self-centered Christian leader hinders others below him from becoming leaders, let his own position be threatened. Moreover, he ministers in such a way that he makes himself a necessity to those to whom he ministers. This is utterly contrary to God's will. Oswald Chambers once said that anyone who made himself a necessity to some other soul had got out of God's order. God alone is the only absolute necessity to any human soul. May none of us ever try to take that place.
No one is indispensable in Christ's Church. God's work can easily carry on without us. In fact, it can carry on much better without the help of those conceited folk who consider themselves indispensable! We must recognise this fact constantly. And so, we must be willing to withdraw into the background anytime God wants us to. However, the self-centered Christian worker will never accept that. He will want to hold on to his position for as long as possible. Many such "Christian leaders" are rotting away on their "thrones" today, hindering the work of God. They do not know what it is to face graciously into the background and let someone else take their place.
You have probably heard the saying that success without a successor is a failure. Jesus recognised this and trained people to carry on His work. In 3 1/2 years, He had trained people to take over the leadership. Paul recognised the necessity of training other people to carry on the work. In 2 Timothy 2:2, he says, "Now Timothy, what I have committed to you. I want you to pass on to other people who will, in turn, be able to train others (right on up to the fourth generation)" (Paraphrased). What Paul was saying in effect was, "You must ensure that you commit this treasure to others. Don't ever hinder people younger than you, from coming up." The people in the business world recognise this principle too. However, many Christian leaders do not. Truly, "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."
It is indeed nothing but self-centeredness that makes a man jealous of someone younger doing things better than he. Cain was jealous of the fact that God had accepted Abel’s and rejected his offering. If Abel had been older than he, that might have been tolerable. But it was the awful fact that his younger brother was better than he that made him furious enough to slay Abel.
We see the same in the case of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph received Divine revelations, and that made all his ten elder brothers green with jealousy, and they tried to do away with him.
King Saul was jealous of young David, because the women sang, "Saul has slain thousands while David has slain ten thousand." From that day, he determined to kill him. Man's history - and alas, the history of the Christian Church too - is filled with the same story over and over again.
On the other hand, what a refreshing contrast it is to look at a man like Barnabas in the New Testament. He was a senior worker who took the newly-converted Paul of Tarsus under his wing when no one else would accept Paul. Barnabas brought him to the church in Antioch and encouraged him. In Acts chapter 13, we read that Barnabas and Paul went out together on a missionary journey. And when Barnabas saw that God was calling this junior worker, Paul, to a larger ministry than his own, he willingly stepped back and graciously faded into the background. And the phrase, "Barnabas and Paul" changes almost unnoticed to "Paul and Barnabas" in the book of Acts.
The Christian Church suffers today because there are only a few like Barnabas who know what it is to step back and let another be honored. We are willing to step back in matters of no importance. When passing through a door, for example, we do not mind stepping back and permitting another to go through first. But in the realms that matter - such as a position and leadership in the Church - we are not so ready to step back. Our self-life is so deceitful. We can have a false humility in things that don't count. But it is in important matters that we see ourselves as we really are.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; & Zac Poonen
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[ecko_quote source="Genesis 5:1-3"] This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God……………. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth [/ecko_quote]
Throughout this week we have been meditating about one of the vital aspects of Church, that is 'Leadership'. It is an often ignored topic although it has a direct impact on the Church. Therefore let us ask God to prepare our minds and hearts so that they are receptive to His revelations while reading these devotions. If there is shallowness in the lives of most believers today, it is because the lives of their leaders are shallow. The people's lives are carnal, because of the leader's life - his thought-life, his relationship with his wife, and children and fellow-workers - is carnal.
A church invariably becomes like its leader. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, we see that in each of the seven cases, the Lord spoke the same message to the church as He did to its messenger. Each message concluded with the statement that the Spirit was saying the same thing to that church. Where five messengers (elders) were carnal, their churches were carnal. And where two messengers were spiritual, their churches were spiritual too. The messenger in Laodicea was lukewarm and so was his church. The messenger in Philadelphia was faithful and so was his church.
In Genesis 1, a phrase that occurs frequently is “after their kind”. We read there about fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, plants yielding seed after their kind, the fish and the birds after their kind, and beasts, creeping things and cattle after their kind (verses 11,12,21,25). In creation, everything produces after its own kind.
God created Adam "in the likeness of God" (Gen.5:1). But Adam produced a son "according to his own image" (v.3). He could not produce a son in the likeness of God. He could only produce the one after his own kind.
Spiritually too, we will all produce children according to our own likeness and after our own kind. If we are the intellectual type of individuals, we will produce intellectually-minded people through our ministry. If we are misers, we will produce misers. And if we're haughty and proud, we will only produce haughty and pride people through our ministry. On the other hand, if we have the spirit of a servant, our spiritual children will also have a servant-spirit too
It is possible, however, that a rare brother may break out of his leader's mould and seek God for himself and become spiritual, in spite of his leader's carnality. But such a case is rare. Generally speaking, most believers are like sheep who blindly follow their leader, wherever he goes. Like a preacher, like people! And when both sheep and leader are blind, they both fall into the ditch.
In every church - in the best and in the worst - those sitting in the outer court will be of the same type - half- hearted, worldly, seeking their own, lovers of money and lovers of ease and pleasure. But a good church will have a strong inner core of leaders who are godly. This core determines which way the church is going to go. The central core will usually begin with two men who have become one with each other. God will be with them and the core will begin to grow in size and unity.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; & Zac Poonen
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[ecko_quote source="Romans 6:12"] Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires [/ecko_quote]
It has been a general tendency among some believers to commit sin, ask for forgiveness and then come back only to recommit the same sin for which they earlier sought forgiveness.
God's law for all sin is punishment followed by transgression and suffering. When a man squanders his fortune by extravagance, he may bitterly repent, but he continues to suffer for his folly. When a man becomes a drunkard or addicted to smoking, he may be full of sorrow for what he has done, but his body and his family would still face the consequences of his luxury of sin. When a woman loses her character, she may weep tears of bitter repentance, and God may pardon her as He pardoned Mary Magdalen, but she can never recover her character and must suffer the consequences of her acts.
In this world or the next, all sin must be compensated for suffering. Christ by His death removed the guilt of sin, but not the suffering for sin. Apostle Peter bids us to remember that suffering remains as a consequence, for he exhorts us, "Forasmuch as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." That is, the sin would be wholly compensated, only when the suffering it brings after it has been committed. The sin may be forgiven and suffered for, but the scar remains on his soul. The blood heals, but the scar remains.
What is required for God to forgive sin? Repentance. However, even repentance does not ensure the removal of the consequences of sin. The consequences often remain as a reminder of the terrible, destructive nature of sin.
King David was forgiven for his grievous sin of lust, adultery, robbery and murder. God forgave him and removed his sin from him completely (Ps 103:12). God did not, however, remove the pain that David would endure as a result of his transgressions. The child born of David’s adultery died (2 Sam 12:14), David’s son Ammon spoiled David’s daughter Tamar (2 Sam 13:14), David’s son Absalom murdered Ammon (2 Sam 13:28-29); Absalom brought the kingdom into rebellion (2 Sam .15).
For the rest of David’s reign, violence filled his home and his kingdom. Although David knew he was forgiven, he bore the painful consequences of his sin for the rest of his life.
It is incorrect to assume that God removes every consequence the moment you repent of your sin. Do not think that the very instant you show remorse God will restore everything as it was. He may not. Some sins, such as adultery, come from a flawed character. God forgives sin immediately upon repentance, but it takes longer to build character. It is a character, not forgiveness; that determines what God brings next to your life.
Because we know the devastating consequences of our disobedience, let us diligently avoid every sin and “run with endurance the race that set before us (Heb 12:1)
Source: Pastor Jonah Ravinder and Blackby
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[ecko_quote source="Isaiah 41:13"]For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee [/ecko_quote]
There is no panic in heaven, only plans. That is how God operates- no panic. Did you know the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) never meet in an emergency session? God has never stepped down from His throne. Jesus has not left His right hand, and the Holy Spirit has not stopped His ministry in the lives of believers including reproving the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8)
Dear brothers and sisters you must refuse to listen to Satan's lies of fear, discouragement, and despair. Our Lord Jesus clearly explained His mission statement and so did Satan in John 10:10 “The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly”.
This scripture clearly defines what God does and what the devil does. It divides what they do into two categories, and everything that happens in life can be placed in one of these categories. Let me explain.
The thief is not your friend. He is your enemy. The thief represents Satan and John 10:10 gives his mission statement -- to steal, kill, and destroy. But who is it that he wants to steal from? It's you! Who is it that he wants to kill? It's you! Whose life does he want to destroy? Yours, mine and every other born-again believer. Satan is the prince of darkness, the father of lies, and the source of chaos, confusion, and destruction. Jesus said in John 8:44 that he was a murderer and that there was no truth in him.
On the other hand, God sent His Son so that the world would not perish but have life, abundant and everlasting (John 3:16). After Jesus had stated Satan's mission statement, he proclaimed His own. The mission statements are completely contrasting. While Satan's purpose is death, destruction, sickness, and lack in our lives, Jesus came to bring life, restoration, and abundance.
A mission statement can be described as a guideline to keep members and users aware of an organisation's or leader's purpose." Jesus clearly states His purpose. He came to give life.
So the next time you hear someone say, "Is it God or is it the devil," the answer will be clear. Which category does "it" come under? If it steals in any way, if it brings death or leads to death, if it destroys or brings destruction, it's the devil. If it brings abundant life full of shalom, it's Jesus. Jesus is not the thief. Jesus is not the one who brings death and destruction. Jesus is not the destroyer. Jesus brings life. When a person attributes the work of God to the devil or a work of the devil to God, he is in very dangerous territory.
Satan’s favourite tool and in fact most workable tool in his hands is “to keep the children of God in discouragement”. When we are in the discouraged state, we will not accomplish anything, and we would be easily defeated in every area by our enemy Satan. The discouraged army would lose battle quickly. Therefore, never allow discouragement in your heart. As a father to my children I always encourage my children and sow the seed of encouragement to defeat the Satan’s most workable tool.
You are a victor and not a victim. Moreover, God is in control! Repeat the following throughout the day today, “God is in control of my life. He will not leave me. His right hand will sustain me all the length of my days."
Source: Pastor Jonah Ravinder and Pastor Larry Ollison
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[ecko_quote source="Isaiah 30:21"] And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you in it when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left[/ecko_quote]
One day my wife asked me to drop her at a particular school in South Auckland. Since this area was unfamiliar, I chose to use my map booklet rather than Google maps on my phone. Because there were newly added roads my map book was of no use to me in this instance. I was left with no choice but to use Google Map -App to proceed further. The Google Maps asked me two questions. The first was about my current location and the second was about my destination. As soon as I filled my current location and destination details it immediately showed me the travel time, kilometers and current traffic situation. The App kept speaking to me and gave me instructions I needed to reach my destination. This process taught me a spiritual significance and a lesson for my Christian journey towards our Lord.
As men and women of God, we must know our current location first, in other words, our current spiritual condition. Unless this position is confirmed, we will not go to our destination that is towards our Lord. Hence, we should first examine ourselves and ask the Lord to search our hearts. Unfortunately, people refuse to know their true position not knowing that it would become a hurdle to their journey. Revelation 3:17 states that “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”. My dear ones it is better for us to know our true current position and ask God for forgiveness when we still have time. Once we know our current position we can set our journey towards our Lord otherwise, we would be called “lost”.
Secondly, during the course our journey we needed to follow the instructions otherwise we would not have reached our destination. Many of us are reluctant to hear the whispering voice of the Holy Spirit and refuse to yield completely to the Lord. In the Old Testament Israelites on their journey to the promised land murmured in their tents and did not heed to the voice of the Lord (Psalm 106:25). As a result, their journey took 40 years instead of a month because of their disobedience. Sadly, all of the Israelites from twenty years old and above died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. Similarly, when we refuse to obey the voice of God we just prolong our journey and may even fall as Israelites.
Therefore, my dear ones obey the instructions as instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is. Delayed obedience is disobedience. The only way we can obey is to obey” in the self-same day “as Abraham did. It’s better to do this way than not to do it at all. A postponed duty can never bring the full blessing that God intended as it would have brought if done at the earliest possible moment. Martin Luther says that” a true believer will crucify the question, ‘Why?’ He will obey without questioning.
When we look at the lives of many great men and women of God in the Bible we can see that each one of them had to follow a long, arduous road. But it led to a wonderful place, to a wonderful conclusion, to nothing less than heaven itself. George Matheson says that even through sorrow, hardship, and fiery trials, the road is still leading home – and we need to keep walking by faith and not by feeling or sight. Always remember that Our Lord Jesus Christ is walking with you.
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[ecko_quote source="Matthew 11:28"]Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [/ecko_quote]
The Bible is the greatest book ever written. In it, God Himself speaks to mankind. It is a book of divine instructions. It offers comfort in sorrow, guidance in perplexity, advice when we face problems, convicts us of our sins, and inspires us daily to cater for all our needs.
The above scripture is known as the greatest invitation to the humanity by our Saviour Jesus Christ. It is also said that no religion on the face of this earth has ever provided such an invitation. No great leaders, rulers, or Kings have ever made such an invitation. Jesus is asking us just to come to him, but most often we would not go to him until we finish our attempts and secure our defeats. This is our continuous human tendency. Even going through tough times, we are reluctant to put forth our problems at His feet. Instead, we do whatever is possible. We even seek help from the friends and families, including doctors (for particular problems) but refuse to surrender and submit our troubles to him. There is nothing wrong in seeking help from other sources… provided, we seek Him first.
My dear ones, It is an open invitation without any conditions attached to it. Christ invites all of us to come to Him to receive rest for our souls. He alone gives this invitation; men come to him when feeling their guilt and misery, believing his love and power to help, they seek him in fervent prayer. Thus, it is the duty and interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners, to come to Jesus Christ. This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come. All who thus come will receive rest as Christ's gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts. Jesus is simply asking us to come to Him with our burdens and labor. In turn, He is assuring us the provision of rest. Whatsoever our problems that are causing us unrest, despair, or even depression. Our Lord is saying to us that we cannot overcome or solve our problems, the one who fallen into the well, needs help from above and he cannot help himself. The world says “help yourself”, but Jesus says come to me… I will give you rest. The rest what Jesus provides is beyond our understanding and comprehension. The scripture states “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Jesus is saying to us “come to Me”.So, How can we go to Him? We have to go to Him in prayer and pour our hearts out to Him. If that seems difficult, then I don’t think there is any other way. God draws our attention in several ways. I once, read a story of a well-trained dog who loved water. One day the dog was playing in the lake. Its owner went out to call him, but it wouldn’t come. It was a good and a well-trained dog. After several attempts of calling him, the man finally threw a stick in the water. When the dog saw it, he swam over, grabbed the stick, came back and laid the stick next to his master. Likewise, It just may be that God who is our master had given you a burden because he can’t get your attention. He is calling us to do what he wants us to do. Our Master wants us to come and lay it at his feet.
My dear ones, God, might be seeking your attention because of the situations you are in. The best way for us to come to Him is to lay down our burden at His feet. Then, surely the peace of God will take control of our lives.
Is your heart aching today?, Come to Him and cast your burden at His feet and allow His peace to fill your heart. (Psalm 55:22)
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[ecko_quote source="I Corinthians 1:8-10"]Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord [/ecko_quote]
There was an old Arabian story about the great King Shah Abbas. He was a wealthy king who found it fun to disguise and hang out with the poorest of the poor. After putting on thin rags, he approached an impoverished area of the city where most of his servants lived. He met with one of his poor servants, started a conversation with him and spent some time with him. After a while, the poor servant offered him his meagre lunch of bread and water. The King in his disguise continued to visit this poor servant and developed a deep friendship with him. Since this poor servant had no idea who Shah was, after a while, the great King Shah finally decided to reveal his identity to his servant. After explaining who he was and proving his true identity, King waited for the servant to ask him for something. He was ready to grant any request his friend had. But the servant sat and quietly gazed at the King with love and admiration.
Then King said to the servant "Are you not understanding all this?" I am the great King Shah Abbas, and I have the power to make you wealthy and noble. I can give you a city; I can appoint you as a great ruler. Don’t you want to ask me for something?
In response, the servant said "Yes, I understand, but you have already given me the most precious gift imaginable. You have left your glorious surroundings and have sat and fellowshipped with me all these months. You have cared about my worries; you have listened to my heart. You have shown me, true love. You gave me the precious gift of your presence. What else would I need from you. Similar occurence exists in the TV show - 'Undercover Boss', where the boss goes in disguise to see what his employees are up to. Most of the time, the bosses are so moved, they end up rewarding the workers greatly.
If we relate the story to our context, we can truly appreciate our Lord Jesus who left all of His heavenly glories and riches and came down to meet us. He fellowshipped with us and shown us our Heavenly Father’s great love towards us and exposed the lies of Satan. God’s greatest gift to humanity is His love and fellowship.
My dear ones, we too have the opportunity to give the precious gift of our presence to others. By spending time with them and listening to their problems, hurts, pain and by consoling them. There is nothing more precious of a gift than giving our time and having a fellowship with them. Therefore, visit our dear ones who are going through hard times, console them, and strengthen them with the Word of God. Surely I know we can make a great impact on their spiritual journey.
Whom can you give the gift of your presence this week? Whom can you simply listen to, spend time with, and demonstrate the love of Christ? Ponder upon these things.
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