Showing posts with label vitamin for the soul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vitamin for the soul. Show all posts

Sunday, April 13, 2008

God Sees Glorious Things In You!

1 Samuel 16:7
7… For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Picture David when he was a shepherd boy. Many who knew young David in his pre-Goliath days would very likely have seen just an ordinary youth — one who lived at home with his parents and siblings, enjoyed the outdoors and loved music. But where others saw a typical teenager, God saw a king in young David. He saw David’s name being uttered in honour forever, for even the Lord Jesus is called the Son of David!

Picture Moses after he had settled down comfortably in the desert with a beautiful wife, lovely children and loving in-laws. He might have seen himself happily retiring in the near future. But God had bigger plans for Moses. God had big dreams for him. God saw the Red Sea opening before him and an entire Egyptian army being wiped out in his presence. God saw in him the deliverer of His people.

Now, step back a little less far in time with me. See a little boy standing alone during play time. Nobody wants him on their team because he is scrawny and seen as a weakling. As he grows into his teens, he suffers from an inferiority complex. He stammers and stutters so much that all his friends laugh at him. But today, he is the senior pastor of New Creation Church. Several times each week, he stands in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 people to preach. And he receives invitations worldwide to speak in churches and pastors’ conferences. There was no way I could have ever conceived in my mind what God saw in me in those early years and the dreams that He had for me.

Beloved, God does not see as man sees. He saw in fearful Gideon a mighty man of valour and called him so even when he was hiding from his enemies in fear. (Judges 6:12) He saw in young David a king and anointed him as one. (1 Samuel 16:10–13) He saw in meek Moses a deliverer and drew him from obscurity. (Exodus 3) Today, God looks beyond what man sees and says about you, and He has dreams for you that are bigger than you can imagine!

God Makes Everything Work Together For Good

Romans 8:28
28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

In this verse, “all things” is literally all things — the good, the bad and the ugly! Now, it does not mean that all things are from God. Some things, such as accidents, sicknesses, broken relationships and divorces are not from God. They are from the devil or just part of the fallen world that we live in. What this verse does tell us is that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. That is our inheritance as God’s beloved children.

Do the people of the world have this inheritance? No. When bad things happen to them, they are what they are — bad things. But when bad things happen to the children of God, it does not end there. God can make those bad things work together for good. In other words, the devil may throw lemons at you, but God can take those lemons and make refreshing lemonade for you!

For example, if you have been retrenched, believe that God, who makes all things work together for good, has a better job for you. Indeed, we have received testimonies from church members who have ended up with better jobs and higher salaries after they were retrenched.

It is important that you remember that God is not behind anything that is bad and ugly. But when those things happen, know that He is able to make all things work together for good. And don’t let anyone tell you that all things will work together for good only if you love God and are called according to His purpose. These two things are not conditions but descriptions of believers. Believers are those who love God because they know that God first loved them. (1 John 4:19) And they are called according to His purpose for they have been born again.

And because you have been born again, all things in your life will work together for good. This is your inheritance as a beloved child of God!

God Knows You Intimately

Matthew 10:30
30“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

As much as I love my wife and daughter, I have never bothered to count the number of hairs on their heads. I don’t have the time to do so and I doubt I will ever want to.

Every day, your hair drops. Yet, God knows how many hairs are left on your head. And He also knows how many are growing back! He knows because He bothers to count them again. When it comes to you, He always has time for every little thing about you.

So when Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very absorbed in you and has intimate knowledge about you — your body, family, finances, relationships… everything in your life!

He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial concerns which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your rebellious son is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart. He hears your heart’s cry for a miracle baby.

Your heavenly Father wants you to know that He pays attention to everything that concerns you. He does not overlook it as long as it concerns you, even if it is your pet, as a church member found out. She panicked when she first discovered that her pet terrapin had gone blind. Then, remembering my messages on confessing healing for our bodies, she did the same for her pet. Three months later, the terrapin’s eyes were wide open and seeing!

God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem that you are worried about and every single burden that you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!

God 'Daily Loads' You With Benefits

Deuteronomy 28:6
6Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

In the Jewish community, the phrase “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” refers to being blessed in the affairs of one’s daily life, whether in or outside your home.

So here, God is saying that you are blessed in your daily life. Do you believe it? Do you believe that every day, your family life and work life are blessed? Or do you think that you are blessed only during Christmas when you receive your gifts and year-end bonus, or when you get that promotion you have been wanting? Or do you think that the blessed life only begins when you meet the man or woman of your dreams?

No, beloved, you are blessed every day and you have God’s Word for it! Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”

And because God’s Word says so, believe that every day of your life is loaded with benefits. Every morning, when you get up, believe that it is a day that the Lord has made, and rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Start the day expecting it to be loaded with the benefits that God has prepared for you.

At night, when it is time to sleep, know that you will be blessed when you get up in the morning because there will be another load of benefits waiting for you from your heavenly Father who loves you so much!

You can’t make your blessings happen. But if you will just believe God’s Word and act like it is so, the blessings will manifest in your life. In fact, God wants to bless you more than you want to be blessed! His Word declares it: “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out… Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”

So believe God’s Word. Believe Him for the blessings, and you will find yourself enjoying His daily benefits!

Divinely Arranged And Beautifully Timed

Ecclesiastes 3:11
11He has made everything beautiful in its time…

Nothing happens to you by accident. Even a “chance” meeting with someone is part of God’s plan to set in motion His blessings in your life.

Such was the divinely arranged meeting of the Shunammite woman and Prophet Elisha. It led to the prophet pronouncing over her the blessing of a miracle child even though she was barren and her husband was old. (2 Kings 4:8–17) A few years later, it was this friendship with the man of God which saw her through a crisis when her son fell seriously ill and died. Elisha raised her son back to life. (2 Kings 4:18–37)

When God is the one orchestrating the events in your life, neither lack nor danger nor destruction can affect you. When famine hit the land, the Shunammite woman’s family did not suffer because God had through Elisha told them to leave the land. They went to the land of the Philistines and dwelt there throughout the seven years of famine. (2 Kings 8:1–2)

God can place you at the right place at the right time, even through your daily decision-making. The Shunammite woman decided to return to Shunem after the famine ended. She then decided to appeal to the king of Israel for help to regain her house and land, which had been illegally acquired by others in her absence. This decision brought her before the king on the same day that Elisha’s servant Gehazi was in audience with the king, who wanted to hear all about the miracles performed by Elisha.

This gave the Shunammite woman the opportunity to share first-hand with the king how Elisha had raised her son from the dead. The thrilled king then ordered the restoration of her house and land, including all the proceeds of the field from the day that she had left until then. (2 Kings 8:3–6) The Lord had timed and set up everything beautifully for her!

Beloved, God has also made everything beautiful in its time for you. As you involve Him in your daily life and trust His love for you, you too will see Him lead and place you at the right place at the right time to enjoy His blessings.

The Answer For A Guilty Conscience

The Answer For A Guilty Conscience


Hebrews 9:14
14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Have you heard the voice of your conscience saying things like, “You deserve hell for the sins you committed against your wife three years ago” and “Why are you surprised that your child is not talking to you? You were never around when he needed you”?

You know, there are people who feel depressed all the time because of a sense of guilt. And they “pay” for their sins in terms of illnesses. In fact, doctors are discovering that the bulk of psychosomatic sicknesses are caused by guilt and condemnation because the conscience is saying, “You have done wrong. You must be punished. How can your sin not be punished?”

That is why you must have an answer that will satisfy your conscience. When your conscience says, “You have sinned. You must be punished for this sin or else God is not a just God,” you say, “Yes, I have sinned. But this sin and every other sin that I have committed was punished to the maximum in the body of Jesus Christ! So there remains no more punishment for me today, for how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse my conscience!”

My friend, the only way to bring peace into your conscience is to revert to the cross. The cross of Jesus is the only answer that will satisfy your conscience.

So the next time your conscience condemns you because of sin, don’t try to silence it with your good works. Revert to the cross and say, “Father, thank You for Jesus and the cross. Christ was totally condemned on my behalf for this sin, so there is now absolutely no condemnation left for me.” Then, your conscience will look at the cross and say, “Ahhhh... peace.” My friend, Jesus’ finished work at the cross truly sets you free!

My Life With Jesus...