DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY

Hab 1:5 "Look around at the godless nations. Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock. Something's about to take place and you're going to find it hard to believe. MSG

  God is the God of the breakthrough. I believe He wants to break through in all the nations of the world prior to the Lord's return. Revival like never before is on it's way.

Rev 7:9 I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there--all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb MSG

   God is visiting people in Muslim, Hindu and buddist nations in dreams and visions and they are having encounters with Jesus without anyone telling them. Isn't this marvellous. But then Jesus died for the WORLD. So He died for people of every tribe and every nation. Today many people in those countries have access to Christian TV and/or radio. Fifty years ago none of that was possible. God can do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond anything we can ask or percieve. He gives the increase. He loves the people of this nation and He loves the people of your nation and indeed all the nations of this world. Praise the name of the Lord!

Isa 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says-

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Isa 43:2 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 Lord led me to those two verses at the beginning of this year and I did not know then the many trials that were facing us as a family at that time. It has been a tough month and I believe now we have turned the corner, but one thing I am sure of throughout all the trials ofthe past few weeks Raymond and I were very sure of the Lord's presence with us, helping us. I am so glad I have the Lord with me at all times for He indeeed is my refuge and my strength.

Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Psa 46:2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Psa 46:3 though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

Selah

Psa 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Psa 46:5 God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Psa 46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

Psa 46:7 The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Psa 46:8 Come and see the works of the LORD ,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

Psa 46:9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields [2] with fire.

Psa 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psa 46:11 The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Eph 3:16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.

Eph 3:17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.

Eph 3:18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.

Eph 3:19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Eph 3:20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.

Eph 3:21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.

   This is a question that surely the church of today, you an I have to ask ourselves? Do we pray this way? Could it be that we have become somewhat inward looking? Are you praying that you might know the extent of God's love or are you praying this for your brother's and sister's? Have the church of today learned how to pray for our brother's and sisters? The whole body needs to function as a whole keeping Christ as our head.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Heb 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

Heb 11:10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Heb 11:11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

Heb 11:12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

     Abraham exercised faith without knowing the full picture. he obeyed God and he believed that what God promised He would deliver. He knew what it was to wait upon God. And Sarah bore the child Isaac when she was well past her child bearing years, because she too exercised faith. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

   I can learn so much from the faith we see this couple had. God will deliver His promises, He has made a covenant and promises with us His people and He will deliver on those promises.  It is not too late, the best is yet to come.

1Co 6:9 Don't you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don't care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex,

1Co 6:10 use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don't qualify as citizens in God's kingdom.

1Co 6:11 A number of you know from experience what I'm talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.

1Co 6:12 Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims.

1Co 6:13 You know the old saying, "First you eat to live, and then you live to eat"? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that's no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!

1Co 6:14 God honored the Master's body by raising it from the grave. He'll treat yours with the same resurrection power.

1Co 6:15 Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master's body. You wouldn't take the Master's body off to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.

1Co 6:16 There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one."

1Co 6:17 Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever--the kind of sex that can never "become one."

1Co 6:18 There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another.

1Co 6:19 Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you.

1Co 6:20 God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body. (MSG)

    Our bodies are not our own, It is important for Christian young people to realise that they need to keep themselves pure for the one they will marry. God ordained that sex should be between a man  and wife. The two become one flesh.

    I remember as a Christian young person thinking that taboos for believers did not include petting and sadly going a little too far. That was sin. Looking at a person of the opposite sex or indeed most definetely the same sex with lust is a sin, it is commiting adultery in one's heart.

  Our bodies are sacred, they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. How can we as Christians abuse our bodies knowing that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and yet I struggle myself with eating too many sweet things?

     We are called to be holy for He is holy.

1Pe 2:9 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you--

Luk 22:39  And he came out, and went, as his custom was, unto the mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed him.

Luk 22:40  And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

Luk 22:41  And he was parted from them about a stone's cast; and he kneeled down and prayed,

Luk 22:42  saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Luk 22:43  And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

Luk 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

What was that agony that Jesus suffered that made Him actually sweat these drops of blood, Jesus was praying earnestly for He was about to go through a time of separation from the Father but He was about to take the sins of the whole world, including us upon Himself and I wonder if part of this was Him interceding for those who would some day come to Him. In John chapter 17 Jesus prayed for us, I believe there was an element of that here and today we know Jesus is interceding for us in  heaven.

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

 Amazing how he loves us and the way He prays and intercedes for us, surely we can learn much about intercession from this, Christ our Lord lives within us as children of God..

Phm 1:4 I give thanks to my God for you always when I mention you in my prayers,

Phm 1:5 Because I continue to hear of your love and of your loyal faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and [which you show] toward all the saints (God's consecrated people).

Phm 1:6 [And I pray] that the participation in and sharing of your faith may produce and promote full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus [and unto His glory].

Phm 1:7 For I have derived great joy and comfort and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints [who are your fellow Christians] have been cheered and refreshed through you, [my] brother.

Phm 1:8 Therefore, though I have abundant boldness in Christ to charge you to do what is fitting and required and your duty to do,

   The  Lord laid it on my heart today that I don't give thanks enough for the brothers and sisters whom God has placed around me throughout the years. He got it so right, he placed people in my life to encourage me, others that stirred something in me to examine myself more before God, also He taught me how to love even those with whom I have had disagreements with along the way and taught me how to forgive. I appreciate those who have taught me something of spiritual wisdom along the way, but you know I have learned something at times from those I thought I was discipling.

    It is wonderful to know that we have brothers and sisters praying for us, even many who we have yet  to meet in person all over the world. I give thanks to God for that. Yes thee is joy and encouragement in the love of our fellow Christians. Thank you Lord and I pray that every day I have breath I might share that love, njoy and encouragement with my brothers and sisters and the world at large.

  Paul would indeed charge me and indeed all of today to have abundant boldness in Christ, the kind of boldnes Paul had and Peter had and to do what is fitting and the Lord requires us to do, to be Spirit led. Amen!

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun…A man to whom God has given riches, possessions, and honor…yet God does not give him the power or capacity to enjoy them."Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 Amplified Bible

So what can I learn from this? Ecclesiastes describes an evil, then instead of referring to something sinful, we see here that those verses describe those who have been blessed, but who aren't able to enjoy their blessings.

 I don't want this to be a reflection of my life. For my God has promised me and given me so much and I want to truly appreciate His blessings and fully trust in Him. So I will have a thankful heart, and not become consumed by worry and anxiety, fear and doubt.

If I do that I will spend  time running after the "vapors" of life (Ecclesiastes 1:2 Amplified)—promises that can't be fulfilled, answers that don't truly solve life's questions, pleasures that don't last, and applause that quickly fades away.

Solomon describes a man "who loves silver" but who "will not be satisfied with silver" (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11). Craving material things my eyes can see will not bring real satisfaction.

 God holds the key to enjoyment in life. Though we can accumulate and feast on the things of the world, only God can give u you and I lasting joy and peace. Without Him, we're simply chasing the wind. But when we serve God and seek first His Kingdom, He promises to bring us into a new dimension of blessing and fulfillment.

God desires to bless youand I , prosper us, take away our worries, and enable us to enjoy life and the things He's given us.

What is the key?

We must seek first His Kingdom  and make sure our lives are  surrendered to Him. He will give us real life! Real joy! Real peace!

Becoming Entirely His  

from

My Utmost for His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

“Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).

Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.

Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.

We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work … .” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.

        And now my thoughts - I know I struggle with impatience, I want things to happen in my timing, but I am learning God's timing is always best. We can't go before His timing and we can't lag behind His timing. Father knows best.