Writer, Journalist
Dear Abba Father God,
In your perfect love, I have no fear.
You quiet me with your comfort in the midst of storm and turmoil.
You sing over me to cheer me up.
You delight in me with Your smile.
You lift me up when I am down.
You hold me tight when I stumble.
You are mighty to save me from the foes.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 ESV.
Dear child,
I call you and equip you.
I will never forsake you or fail you.
I have exalted King Solomon before he knew how to be a king. (1 Chronicles 29:25)
And I love to give him wisdom for his position when he asked for it with humility, knowing he couldn’t do it without Me.
Therefore, I desire your prayer, not because I don’t know what you need or want, but because I want to let you know how much I love you.
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how long, how high and how deep His love is.” Ephesians 3:18 NLT
Dear child,
Do you see what I see?
I see you perfect because I have cleansed you with My blood and My Spirit.
I see you as a stranger in the world because I have called you to be holy.
I test you as gold is refined so that you know your faith is sincere and your heart is pure.
As a result, you give yourself as a living sacrifice willingly and with honest intent.
And you have been rejoicing with what you have done for My Holy Name. (1 Chronicles 29:14-17)
You know I am pleased with your integrity.
My beloved child.
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV
Dear child,
Look at the Cross of Jesus Christ with wonder,
How I lavish My love on you.
I have called you and made you My very own,
My beloved child.
Look not what you don’t have. Look to what Jesus Christ has done for you.
Focus not on what you can do. But focus on what Jesus Christ calls you to do.
Father God loves you without condition about what you have or what you can do.
He delights in you and loves you because you are His precious child.
“Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that He has lavished on us! He has called us and made us His very own beloved children.”
1 John 3:1a
All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ (2 Corinthians 1:20)
After Jesus Christ obeyed Father God’s will and died on the cross for sinners’ debt of death, Father God resurrected Jesus from the death and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly throne.
Father God has given Jesus Christ all the promises to manage. Those treasures are stored in Jesus Christ’s great palace for all His beloved friends, those who revere God and love the Lord, to come to ask and receive. Whatever you ask in Jesus Christ’s name, God will always say “Yes, you may have it.” with all promises God desire to give away to you.
When I read the Bible, I am like an archeologist, digging and looking for the verses the Holy Spirit guides me to have by touching my heart to delight and desire. I often read Psalms and Proverbs and learn from the authors to cry out to God for what I need to have so that my spiritual life may grow maturely.
For example, I am not a very good listener and often respond too quickly without listening to others. Therefore, I ask God for giving me listening ears so that I can be quick to listen and slow to speak (refer to James 1:19). I also ask God to guard my lips and give me wisdom to speak His word to build up people and myself (refer to Psalm 141:3, Proverbs 15:4, Proverbs 17:27, Ephesians 4:29). I also ask God for opening my eyes to see His wonder and glory so that I can praise Him (Psalm 119:18).
And the result is that I hear people affirm my good listening, speaking with wisdom to encourage them and spotting God’s working in people’s lives.
However, sometimes, His promise of loving me includes conviction and discipline. I often ask God for giving me a teachable heart (refer to Psalm 119:34). Recently, while I studied Romans 10 with a group of saints, I was slowly seeing my self-righteous attitude. Therefore, I repented and thanked God for sanctifying me through His Scripture.
That’s how I understand from the fellow believers and in God’s word that God has granted all my asking for His promises.
How joyful I am to know He is faithful to keep His promise to always say ‘Yes’ to my humble requests for His heavenly treasures.
Exodus 14:15-16:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground…”
Exodus 14:31
And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.
God gives us the easy yoke in His kingdom is to raise our prayer like Moses raised his staff and stretched out his hand. And then God will do the big wonder to redeem us and destroy our enemies like He divided the Red Sea for His people to escape from the enemies and showed His glory.
Consequently, we shall fear God and trust in Him when we see our prayers gain victory by the power of the Holy Spirit. When God answers our prayers, He desires to reveal His attributes to the people who pray and affirm our identities as His beloved children and connect Himself with us in an intimate relationship.
Therefore, take our authority in Jesus Christ’s name to pray and move on, then give all the glory and thanksgiving with reverence to God.
May God give all the saints in our church the understanding of our need for the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can seek to be filled by the Holy Spirit and live in spirit, not in flesh as victorious prayer warriors. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
God set before us His blessing and curses (Deuteronomy 11:26). When we choose to obey, there’s a blessing. When we choose to disobey His good law, there’s a curse. The curse brings trouble and no peace. Therefore, we know we are off the track and that brings us back for His forgiveness and salvation.
Without justice and righteousness, the humane mercy ignores the problems which in the long run become spoiled and harmful like cancer to the body. Only God can balance love and justice perfectly because He is infinite and all-knowing.
God promises that when we humble ourselves, His wisdom will flow to the people who revere Him, like the water flows from high to low.
When everything goes well with us, the pride and complacency often lurk in our hearts. Therefore, God reminds us to remember what He has led us all the way from the past. When He caused us weak and poor in the spirit, He gave us His word to strengthen us and so we know the sweetness of His presence and provision (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Observe what He says and obey in His ways and respect, fear and love God, because God is leading us to the good eternal home (Deuteronomy 8:6). We don’t want to miss the way because we desire the heavenly home. Therefore, follow God with all your heart. Be careful and alert to remember God.
And thank God for humbling and testing us so that in the end it might go well with us (Deuteronomy 8:16). Without His discipline, we cannot see what we miss, resulting in going astray.
Remember God and thank God for giving us the ability to work and live a life of godliness through the divine power of the Holy Spirit. We can remember Him because God empowers us to remember.
Therefore, think more about God’s promises and claim them to partake the divine power, rather than think too much about self and forget God’s promises and disconnect with His power. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
By God’s divine power, the saints are called to come to claim His promises in the name of Jesus Christ. Through His promises, we receive His divine nature to escape from the corruption of sinful desire and destroy it with His divine weapon and thus we overcome the world.
上帝不是我們呼之即來、揮之即去的寵物。
上帝是會吼叫的獅子，可以因我信主耶穌基督的名，慈愛的拍拍我的頭，也能大能公義地拆除我的罪惡營壘和消滅我的仇敵。
God is not a tamed cat or dog for me to pat at my feet or do my bidding at my beck and call.
God is the roaring lion, who is gentle and loving to pat me on my head when I dare to draw near in Jesus Christ’s name and also mighty in righteousness to tear apart my sins and my foes.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NIV
Some time had passed since I heard from Sarah, a friend I pray for often.
Then I watched a movie I thought Sarah might find interesting. I sent her the information through Messenger. A few minutes later, she called and told me she was feeling miserable. The man she had been dating for years cheated on her. She felt betrayed, angry, and frustrated. She had seen a Christian counselor twice but could not fall asleep at night.
“How did the counselor help you?” I asked.
“He asked me to write down what my left brain told me so my logical sense could persuade my emotion on my right brain to forget about this lousy man. But I’m not in the mood to write it now.” She sighed.
“I may not be a licensed counselor, but I believe God, your Creator, knows your heart more than any human. Would you like me to pray for you and ask Jesus to help you?” I wanted to point Sarah to Jesus, her ultimate comforter.
“Why does this happen to me?” Sarah asked.
“Only God knows. But one thing Jesus wants to assure you is that God loves you,” I replied.
The child Jesus was sent by His heavenly Father to carry our sin debt to the cross. He is the ruler of the kingdom of God. And He is the best counselor because He understands our suffering through bearing our burdens daily.
Jesus proves Himself to be the mighty One who can calm the storm in your heart with His gift of peace.
If you’re struggling, instead of trying to grab any plank to let yourself float above the roaring ocean of trouble, cry out to God for help.
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
https://christiandevotions.us/viewblogentry/1319