The Blessing Of Serving God

Text: Malachi 3:16-18

 

God promises to bless everyone who receives salvation and consecrates his life, time, talent and other resources to wholeheartedly serve Him. He keeps record of all services rendered in His name. Services as little as words of comfort, encouragement, counsel and edification spoken in His name attract rewards.

Faithful servants have records of their noble deeds in the “book of remembrance”; “they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts... I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern ...between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” The Scripture teaches that God spares His servants in times of calamity, fear, distress, mishaps, etc. in the world; that He spares His faithful servants when He judges evildoers.

God also always makes a difference between those who serve Him and those who do not. He “severs” or separates those who serve Him from the crowd of humanity to bless them. When there is outbreak of plagues, the Lord shields believers who are serving Him from getting infected and affected by the diseases of the world. “And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel” (Exodus 8:22;9:4).

God is unchanging. As He did in Egypt, He still shields the family and property of believers who serve Him from the evils in the world. God’s blessings and favour are upon believers who serve Him.

1.    GOD’S PROMISE FOR ALL WHO SERVE HIM 

Text: Exodus 23:25,26; Job 36:7,11; Matthew 6:33; Acts 27:23-25.

God’s call to salvation in Christ is not in vain. He has also not called believers to serve Him in vain. He promises to reward the faithful who cleave to Him and continue in His service in spite of challenges they face, persecution they suffer and oppression they bear for His sake. “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.”

God always watches over His righteous servants, establishes and promotes them, and grants them prosperity and pleasures throughout their lifetime on earth. Being benevolent, He does not want His righteous and faithful servants to spend their days in regret and sorrow. His promise of addition and multiplication of blessings for His righteous children in the Kingdom are sure. During storms of life, God will preserve them; He will also preserve people around them for their sake. And everything they lay their hands on will prosper for God’s glory.

2.    GOD’S POWER WHILE YOU SERVE HIM 

Text: 2 Kings 20:1-6

God demonstrates His power in the life of believers who serve Him. In critical times, the Scripture teaches that believers should not fear but behave like Hezekiah who did not allow fear to paralyze and rob him of the initiative to take the negative message of his premature death from a notable prophet to the Lord in prayer.

Satan is a defeated bully who threatens and oppresses people. But neither Satan nor his emissaries can determine the lifespan of the people who serve God. Rather than accept any negative message, situation or condition, believers need to acknowledge their privileged position and relationship with Christ and get it reversed by the power of God. No idle Christian in the Kingdom has boldness to call God to remembrance of any services rendered like Hezekiah did. Believers then should not be idle but get dutifully engaged in the service of the Lord who is not unrighteous to forget their labour of love. 

God answers and demonstrates His power on behalf of believers who faithfully serve Him. Demonstrating His power in the life of Hezekiah, God said, “I have heard thy prayer... behold, I will heal thee... And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” Believers who resolve to serve God unreservedly throughout their life-time will have the manifestation of His power in every aspect and facet of their lives.

3.    GOD’S PLAN FOR THOSE WHO SERVE HIM 

Text: Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 91:1-16

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has a plan for the people that serve Him. He is committed to fulfilling the expectations of His people according to His will and plan for their lives. The plan of God builds assurance, confidence and faith in believers. Greater is Christ in them than Satan who is in the world. The believer needs to know his exalted position in Christ and not be afraid of the devil. God’s plan for those who serve Him is comprehensive, ranging from spiritual, physical to material well-being and covers preservation, promotion, answer to prayer, longevity of life and fulfilment on earth and admission to eternal reward in heaven.

== Culled from DCLM Bible Study Outline ==

Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you. God bless you!

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Limiting His Flow

Impeding the loving flow of the Holy Spirit

Can cause your peace to be accidentally lost;

Without the proper atmosphere in your life,

Is there success when picking up your cross?

With the Spirit’s sensitivity, He knows

The inner workings of your motivations;

Do you believe that a show of gratitude

Will masquerade any sin-based deceptions?

We need to create and maintain each day

A spiritually-conducive ambiance for Him;

One that is naturally peaceful and loving,

Whereby your soul is stirred with new hymns.

Are you sincerely allowing the Holy Spirit

To divinely set your underlying heart-tone

For each and every aspect of your lifestyle,

Whether it’s: at work, play or rest at home?

Having a genuine fellowship with Him ensures

That you’re not living life as an emergency;

Yet His manifest presence helps you to live…

Victoriously with a sense of sacred urgency.

Remember that you’ve been secured by Christ

For the approaching day of final redemption,

Which is deliverance from sin’s consequences

(from accepting His holy gift of Salvation).

Where can you hope or expect to really go,

When carnal actions are limiting His flow?

Author Notes

Loosely based on:

Ephesians 4:17-32; 1 Pet 1:3-5

== Written by: By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2014, All rights reserved. ==

Learn more about Joseph and his poetry at: http://amzn.to/1ffo9YZ

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Where Are You?

But the Lord God called to the man, “where are you?” GEN 3:9 [NIV]

Man and God have always enjoyed fellowship since creation. God’s ultimate purpose to create man is to be in constant communication and communion with man. No wonder, Genesis 3:8 pointed out that God was on His usual visit to man.

Man lost this sweet relationship with his creator when he disobeyed [committed sin]. Sin has and is always the separating factor in the fellowship between man and God.

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened. That it cannot save; neither his ear too heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1, 2).

God’s hunger for that fellowship with Him has not quenched as we see in Gen 3:9 above; God still asks the question “where are you?” God came as He usually does to fellowship but Adam and Eve, whom because of shame, fear, and guilt hid themselves. I don’t know what you have done that makes you hide from God. Could it be shame, fear or guilt? God is willing to pardon you if only you will return.

God’s search to restore man back to this sweet loving relationship is the message of the entire Bible - you see how important you are to God? Yes! You, reading this piece are important to God. The Bible gives details of how God has through His Prophets, Judges, Kings, tried to return man’s heart to Himself. Although, He respects our free will [The ability to choose].

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Sin begets spiritual death, which eventually leads to physical death.

An unredeemed [unrepentant, unsaved] man is heading to eternal destruction [Hell] (Mathew 25:46; Isaiah 66:24). That is not God’s will for us. He still wants us in the fellowship with Himself. As final and definite solution to the problem of separation between the creator [God] and creatures [us], God gave us His only begotten Son (John 3:16), that we may believe in Him, repent, be saved and be restored into the fellowship with Him.

Today, many for the sake of the pleasures of this world, its gains, its looks and offers are comfortable living in sin, to end up in hell. The big question “WHERE ARE YOU?” echoes everywhere as God’s call to you today.

Is your appeal like that of Solomon? “I sought him, but I could not find him, I called him, but he gave me no answer” (Songs of Solomon 5:6). Then, be informed that God’s desire as He calls us is to come and fellowship with Him. “Where are you?” God calls.

“Where are you?” in the midst of life's hustles;

“Where are you?” in that your high horses;

“Where are you?” down below in that mess.

God wants you to answer His call and take His hands as He directs you, liberates you, caresses you, pampers you, uplifts you, empowers you, enriches you, covers you, promotes you, and as He heals you.

WHAT DO I DO TO ANSWER GOD’S CALL?

For the sake of this write up, some practical steps will be recommended to help you answer God’s call.

Step 1 – Acknowledge your sinfulness. Rom 3: 23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Rom 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”

Step 2 – Repent now. Acts 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”. 1 john 1:9: “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unfaithfulness.”

Step 3 – Believe that God loves you and that Jesus died for you. Rom 5:8: “But God commanded His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Step 4 – invite Jesus into your life through the prayer of faith. Rev 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hears my voice, and opens the door; I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me.”

If you have taken these steps in faith to the fourth step, congratulation! It doesn’t stop there anyway. The Gospel according to Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages you to join a Bible believing church in your locality. Meet with the counselor, pastor or leader there as they guide you into the knowledge of the Truth.

I hope this piece blessed you. Meet you in the field of harvest for souls as we work by grace to glorify the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and our heavenly Father to whom all praise is due.

Remain Blessed!

=== Written by: Frank Bishop, © 2014===

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Joys Are Flowing Like A River

Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart His home.

Blessed quietness, holy quietness,

What assurance in my soul!

On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me,

 How the billows cease to roll.

Bringing life, and health, and gladness,
All around this heav'ly Guest;
Banish'd unbelief and sadness,
Chang'd our weariness to rest.

Like the rain that falls from heaven,
Like the sunlight from the sky,
So the Holy Ghost is given,
Coming on us from on high.

What a wonderful salvation,
Where we always see His face;
What a perfect habitation,
What a quiet resting place.

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God's Faithfulness Releases Us From Worry And Anxiety

Text: Matthew 6:30

Worry locks up people in the darkroom of unbelief but faith opens the windows to let in the light of positive thinking and logical reasoning. Anxiety casts the shadow of frustration and despair on us and keeps us from meditating on the provision and promise of our freedom.

Many people, even some dear Christians are prevented from enjoying a fuller and happier life because they are imprisoned by worry and anxiety. The unrenewed mind breeds worry and anxiety and walks by sight in a world of uncertainty. The truth taught by Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit sets us free. Even when we know the truth in our head, unbelief and worry can keep us from experiencing the joy and liberty of the children of God. "Seeing many things, but thou observest not" and "therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst" (Isaiah 42:20; 5:13).

Our Saviour, Lord, Master and Teacher Jesus Christ, said: "Behold the fowls of the air". "Consider the lilies of the field". The Scriptures command, "Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee" (Job 12:7,8). "Go to the ant, consider her ways, and be wise" (Proverbs 6:6). "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but my people doth not consider" (Isaiah 1:3).

God's revelation and God's creation join their voices together, teaching us to live by faith and banish worry and anxiety from our hearts. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, still commands us today: "Have faith in God"; "Take no thought". Trust in the Lord and be free from worry and anxiety.

1. GOD'S FAITHFULNESS OUTLAWS ALL WORRY AND ANXIETY

Text: Matthew 6:30; Luke 12:24,28; 2 Chronicles 25:9; Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13; Romans 5:9,10,15,17; Romans 8:32; Lamentations 3:23-25; 2 Timothy 2:7,13; Psalm 36:5-10; Hebrews 10:22,23; 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Our Lord uses the words "much more" to remind us of the certainty of God's faithfulness. Every time He uses those words, He makes a simple and logical comparison. Our heavenly Father feeds the birds - He has never failed in this responsibility. The least of the birds are faithfully fed. We know this, as a matter of fact. This also we should know without a shadow of doubt: He will feed us. Our heavenly Father is always faithful.

Christ also uses the words "much more" in comparing us with the grass of the field. God, our Creator and Father, clothes the grass, the lilies and the flowers. We see the evidence of this everywhere. It is a fact no one can argue against. "Thou openest thine hand and thou renewest the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:28,30).

Every year we see the renewal of the face of the earth with the beauty of the grass, the lilies and the flowers. What lesson does Christ draw from this? "How much more will He clothe you." God's faithfulness to all His children in every generation is guaranteed.

The words "much more" appear again in Christ's teaching in the family setting. Earthly parents feed their children. No one doubts this. Generally, children do not worry about the next meal. Generally, children do not need great faith in order to expect to be fed by their parents. From this obvious fact, our Lord leads us to expect the full care of our heavenly Father.

We have no reason to worry. Our Father is always faithful to His promises. He does not change and cannot fail. "Behold, I will perform that good thing which I have promised. If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken" (Jeremiah 33:14,20,21). How can we ever worry as children of such a faithful God? Rest in God and be free from all worry and anxiety.

2. GROWING FAITH OVERCOMES ALL WORRY AND ANXIETY

Text: Matthew 6:30; Luke 8:22-25; John 20:26-31; Hebrews 10:35-38; Romans 4:19,20; Hebrews 11:8-10,17-19; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Luke 17:5,6; Mark 11:22-24; Colossians 2:5-7; Isaiah 26:3,4; Philippians 4:6-8,13,19.

"O ye of little faith" accounts for the reason for our needless worry. Faith is the key that opens the door to a life of joy, fullness and fulfillment. "O ye of little faith" is the reason for all our needless fears. Our needless FEAR:

False Experiences Appearing Real (2 Kings 3:21-24; 7:5-15),

Falsified Evidence Affecting Reasoning (Matthew 14:24-33),

Frequent Exaggerations Altering Reality (Numbers 13:28-33; 14:1-4)

Feeble Enemies Arousing Restlessness (1 Samuel 4:5-7; 5:1-9; 6:19,20),

Fictitious Expectation Anticipating Rejection (Judges 13:8-23),

Frightening Eloquence Announcing Retaliation (2 Chronicles 32:9-22),

Fierce Egyptians Approaching Ruin (Exodus 14:9-30) --

These needless fears cause unnecessary worry because of lack of faith or little faith. Saving faith makes us believe in Christ for our salvation. We believe that Christ died for our sins and paid the full price for our redemption, that He has borne all the penalty of our sins. Repenting of all our sins and believing in Christ's death and resurrection, all our sins are forgiven and the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Now we believe that God is our heavenly Father. That is what it means to have saving faith.

All who have saving faith but who do not go further to believe that God will take care of their day-to-day needs, who are worried and anxious, not believing God for the temporal needs of life have just little faith. Saving faith keeps them in God's family but the little faith robs them of so much blessings in this life. The lack of family faith or the faith of a child in the family may make their earthly life disturbed or distracted by worry and anxiety.

3. GUARANTEED FREEDOM OVERLOOKS ALL WORRY AND ANXIETY

Text: Matthew 6:30; Psalm 112:6-8; Acts 12:5-11; Psalm 125:1-3; Judges 13:8-23; Psalms 46:5-11; 55:22; 62:1,2,5-8; Habakkuk 3:17-19; Acts 16:23-26; Psalms 16:8,9; 121:1-8.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (John 8:32,36; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1). Glorious freedom - freedom from sin - "being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness" (Romans 6:18,22). Guaranteed freedom - freedom from all worry and anxiety.

"Therefore take no thought, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:31,32). Just as we cannot serve two masters, we cannot concentrate our thoughts on two different objects in two different places at the same time. We cannot meditate on God's promises and our problems at the same time. Meditating on God's promises, considering God's providence and trusting in God's power, we shall forget the problems, leaving them in God's hands.

The bigger and greater our God is in our hearts, the smaller our problems become. When the Most High God becomes all in all to our faith, our problems diminish and become nothing. Putting God in His place, on the throne of our heart, worry and anxiety will have no place. A heart full of love and faith towards God has no room for worry and anxiety. We are free and free indeed.

=== Culled from DCLM Bible Study Outline ===

Trust in the Lord always for He alone is able to make all your fears and anxieties fade away. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

Feel free to share and leave your comments. God bless you!

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You Must Make A Choice

It doesn't end at the hospital,

Laid out on a gurney;

That is only the beginning of your eternal Journey.

The BIBLE clearly tells us what lies ahead,

Both for the saved and the unsaved dead.

The biblical Prophets have much to tell,

You must make a choice: HEAVEN OR HELL!

=== Written by: Carl Hatter ===

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I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day;
I don't borrow from it's sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray;
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead. 

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

Ev'ry step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter,
Ev'ry cloud is silver lined;
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye;
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky

I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow
Is the One who stands by me;
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.

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How To Enjoy Life

Text: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

"Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God" (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

Enjoyment does not come from possessions or riches; nor does it come from companionship, popularity, and fame; or from the approval and admiration of others. Enjoyment comes by knowing the living God and taking everything from His hand with thanksgiving, whether it is pain or pleasure. That is the gift of God, and that is the lesson of this great book of Ecclesiastes.

Notice how the chapter closes: "He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart" (Ecclesiastes 5:20). Have you ever met people like that? They have lived a full life, but they never talk about the past. Some people live in the past.

William Randolph Hearst, who amassed one of the great fortunes of our time, ended his days amidst all the opulence and splendor of the castle that he built in southern California, sitting in a basement, playing over and over again the movies of his paramour from Hollywood in an effort to eke out a degree of enjoyment from the past.

When people discover the richness of life that God has provided, they do not think of the past or even talk about it. They do not talk about the future, either, because they are so richly involved with the savor of life right now.

How good it is to know the living God, to know that He controls what comes into your life. He expects you to make choices; Scripture always encourages that. But rejoice in the wisdom of a Father's heart and richly enjoy what is handed you day-by-day; that is the secret of life. Such a one "seldom reflects on the days of his life" because God will keep him occupied "with gladness of heart."

May the grace of the Lord be with you. Feel free to share and leave your comments.

Copyright © Ray Stedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org

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God Chastises For Correction

TEXT: JEREMIAH 29:1-9 

Key verse: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them” (Jeremiah 29:4,5).

Billy Graham, in his book entitled, Worker’s Handbook, said: “If life were all easy, wouldn’t we become flabby? When a ship’s carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel, he did not cut it in the valley, but up on the mountainside where the trees had been buffeted by the winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice; but if we face it bravely, it can toughen the fiber of our souls. God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.”

Jeremiah wrote to the Israelites, who were in captivity in Babylon as a form of discipline by the Lord, that they should move ahead with their lives and pray for the heathen nation that enslaved them. 

From experience, we discover that trials and suffering can come from three sources. Firstly, it can come due to disobedience to the commandment of God, that is, as a result of sin. Secondly, it can also be permitted by God without any iniquity on the part of man. Job’s experience is an example. Thirdly, it can be as a result of satanic oppression. In all these causes of calamities, it is the one by Satan that is the easiest to handle. When God demonstrates His omnipotence by allowing divinely arranged trials in our lives, we should realize that it is to achieve His own glory through us. If it is from Satan, all we need do is to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, pray and believe God for solution. The most difficult of all trials to tackle is one caused by sin. Some people hide sins in their hearts and go about as if there is no problem. But God, who knows the state of their hearts, will not answer their prayers.

Whatever your calamity, you need to, first of all, examine your life. Ask God to reveal, through His Spirit, the cause of the problem to you. Then, make your way right with God.

Thought for you: Chastisement is designed for our good; to bring us closer to God.

See more by clicking daily manna above or here: <<Daily Manna>> Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

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O, How I Wish You Knew

O, how I wish you knew, 

The world seeks Christ in you.

Beneath your lofty eyes,

They see a life of lies:

You claim to know the Lord

But won't obey His word;

You scorn your friends in sin

And nurse hatred within.

You go to Church always,

To hide your sinful ways;

You think the world won't know,

The deeds you wouldn't show.

But God sees everyone;

Our toils under the sun;

He knows His true children

Salvaged from devil's den:

They walk in ways of love,

And live for Christ above;

Doing the thing that's right,

Like those transferred to light.

O, how I wish you knew

The world hungers for  true

Believers of the Cross,

Who see their lives as loss

In Jesus Christ alone;

Who won't cast the first stone

At every wrong they see,

Instead, would show mercy.

Dear brethren in the Lord,

It's time we live the Word;

Teaching the ways of love,

Living for Christ above.

It is not what we know,

It is the care we show,

That shows sinners the Way,

Through kindness everyday.

O, how i wish you knew

The world seeks Christ in you.

We need not play the "church"

But start being the Church.

Jesus depends on us

To proclaim of the Cross,

To speak of salvation,

With joy to all nations.
Through kindness everyday,
We show sinners the Way;
It is not what we know,
It is the care we show.

The world seeks Christ in you,
O, how I wish you knew.

===Written by: Jacobs Adewale ===

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