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SCRIPTURE: “To our God and Father be glory for ever
and ever. Amen! Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who
are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings,
especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20-23)
EXPOSITION:
What stuck out to me was Paul giving glory to God even after
everything he’s been through. His circumstances are not what he bases
God getting glory. After letting the Philippians know that
God will supply all their needs according
to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus,
he praises the Lord with the words
‘be glory forever and ever’
What I found significant is that Paul addresses God more personally
as Father. God is seen not only as his Father but the Father of the
Philippians too. There is a son-Father relationship here. No matter what
is happening to Paul, he knows that God deserves to be glorified. That
is exciting! For me this statement also lets the Philippians know that
God is their Father too.
I am so excited to claim the promise
‘what great love the Father has lavished
upon us that we should be called His dear children.’ (1 John 3:1)
Isn’t that amazing?
It is for me because whether we have an earthly father or not, we can
always have a Heavenly Father we can depend on and turn to. I know no matter what
Paul is going through, he has his trust and faith in His Heavenly Father
and gives Him the glory.
The next thing I see Paul doing is speaking to the children of God. The
exhortation is for one another to greet all in Christ Jesus even as they
are greeted, especially those of Caesar's household. This is very
significant because he is letting the Philippians know there are
children of God even in Caesar's household now.
That becomes that much more significant when we realize that many
people thought they had no king but Caesar. Now there is a band of
believers within Caesar's household that do not give Caesar the allegiance
but to God, their Father. It is possible it could be those who are
related to Caesar too. God is their King now!
After talking about God and exhorting them to greet others, Paul ends
the letter with a blessing. The blessing itself is very profound because
it starts out with ‘GRACE’ and the entire letter is concluded with
‘GRACE’
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be
with your spirit. Amen!”
What came to my mind is whether it is Paul, the Philippians, or
Caesar's household, they all have one thing in common. That is having
God as their Heavenly Father so they can be saints in Christ Jesus and
brothers/sisters to one another. But all this has only been possible
because of GRACE. It is the Lord’s grace that allowed them all to be
His children and experience their Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ
our Lord. That is exciting.
IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. I need to always have a
personal relationship with Father God like Paul did no matter what is
happening to me and around me. Paul is able to say,
'To God and
our Father' implying that God is not only Paul's Father but also the
Father of the Philippians because they have turned to Him. God has been my Heavenly Father too as I have turned my life over to
Him. I am excited to say that I have a personal relationship with my
Heavenly Father.
This Father's Day, of June 21, 2009, children
and churches celebrate and honor father's whom the Lord Jesus has given to them to be leaders
and shepherd's of their household. Yes, father's should be honored but not
only this day but everyday.
HOW THE GOSPEL GIVES ME
TESTIMONY REGARDING F.A.T.H.E.R:
I don't have an earthly father to honor and love
this Father's Day because of death. It has been a sad
time but also a time to remember what our dad did for us. I hope you read the memoriam of my dad by clicking on the picture and
are blessed by it!
God promises to be the Father of the fatherless. It has not been easy
for our family especially today but we also know our beloved dad is with
Father God in Heaven. We also know that our Heavenly Father wants to
always be our Father to take care of us, lead us, and guide us.
So this Father's Day, it is not only to celebrate our earthly dad
that God gave us, but also to celebrate our Heavenly Father.
Everyone should have a reason to celebrate Father's Day even if it
cannot be celebrated twice!
Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gave His only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that whoever believes in what Jesus
did for us will have Eternal Life. Jesus went to the cross to die for
you and me. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so we could be made
right with God. Now when God sees us He sees the precious cleansing
blood of Jesus covering over our sin, so we are seen through the
righteousness of Jesus.
This allows us to have that personal relationship with God because
God wants you and me friend. He loves us so much that He made a way to
restore our relationship to Him through the death and resurrection of
Christ.
Yes, it is wonderful to know
'How great is the love the Father has
lavished upon us that we should be called His dear children'. (1 John
3:1)
Whether we have an earthly father or not, we can always have our
Heavenly Father with us who will take care of us and be with us. Yes, He
will friend. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He will never leave us nor forsake us.
I ask you now dear friend, what have you done
for your F.A.T.H.E.R in life?"
Friend, we are to love and honor our father that God has given us
here on earth because God has placed them in authority over us no matter
what kind of father they have been. I cannot
directly honor my beloved dad because he went to be with Jesus on Dec
17, 2008 but I can still honor his memory.
I don’t know what kind of earthly father you have been
exposed to. I used the word exposure because any kind of exposure of
anything or anyone can affect us positively or negatively. It could also
affect how we perceive other areas of our life. No matter how your
earthly relationship has been, I want you to know that your Heavenly
Father loves you so much. Oh yes, He does!
It is easier for people who have had a good relationship or bad
relationship with their earthly father to project those feelings upon
Father God. The relationships we have with our earthly father determines
many times our relationship with Father God.
No matter how your earthly relationship has been with your dad, know
that it is nothing compared to the relationship your Heavenly Father
wants with you. When we were separated from our Heavenly Father, our
Heavenly Father took the initiative to bring us back to Him.
Now, when we acknowledge our sins before Father God and ask Him to
forgive us of all our sin as we repent of them, we have taken the first
step. Now we need to believe and know that Jesus Christ is the only one
that could wipe our slate clean no matter how stained it has been. It is
His precious cleansing blood that washes us whiter than snow and
restores us to Father God.
You can come as you are and receive the love our Heavenly Father
wants to bestow upon you. Friend, what better day to give your life to
Father God than on Father's Day. You can give your life to God on any
day but why wait.
It is appointed to man to die once and then the judgment.
None of us
know when we will leave this earth. We can leave suddenly and may not
have that opportunity to have that relationship with God so now is that
time.
Come as you are and give your life to Father God no matter how your
earthly life is going. God's love is never based on what we can give
Him. We can never pay the debt of what God did for us through Jesus
Christ. It is God's love that helps us go on. Praise the Lord! Amen!
God loves you! God loves you! God loves you!
Believe that and know that because He loves you He made a way for you
to enter a relationship with Him.
But never be deceived into thinking because God loves you, He will
accept you even if you don't give your life to Him. This can be far from
the truth and those that teach that 'God loves everyone to receive them
into Heaven no matter what religion they follow' are telling you lies.
Yes, God loves humanity but God's love for humanity does not give
people free access to Heaven. God in His holiness cannot and will not
ever let sin enter into His presence.
This means God can love you so much but because of your sin, God
cannot allow you to come into Heaven and defile Heaven without accepting
the antidote provided through the sacrifice. You see friend, we can do
99% of good things in our lives and be seen as a saint from the world's
standard's but that 1% bad thing we have done would have still made us
sinful in God's eyes.
No amount of good things we do can cover over the bad we have done.
It is like 99% of water having 1% of cyanide dropped in. No matter how
much you reason, that water is not pure anymore.
It is the same way with our lives. Never confuse God's love to mean
everyone has free access to Heaven. Because of God's love for us, Father God
went through so much pain as God-incarnate to save us. Father God knew we
cannot save ourselves no matter what we do on our own.
People still try to save themselves by all the good they do so they
can reach God but God says, "all your works are like filthy rags to me"
God also says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
God".
This means no human being is perfect and we cannot reach God on our
own. God has to reach us and God has done that through the sacrificial
death of Jesus Christ. I thought about an analogy called 'Calvary
Hospital of Salvation'
The deadly VIRUS has infected the mind, body,
and soul spreading rapidly. You and I cannot do anything to heal
ourselves of this virus except come to the HOSPITAL where the GREAT
PHYSICIAN waits so He alone can heal us.
The sick are gathered from all corners of the earth and taken to this
hospital. This hospital is called CALVARY HOSPITAL OF SALVATION and the
EMERGENCY WARD is called GOLGOTHA.
The GREAT PHYSICIAN is not like other doctors who can only treat
patients with physical ailments but this GREAT PHYSICIAN is much more
and knows He has to stay 72 HOURS for every dying person there to be
healed.
He knows what He has to do! This GREAT PHYSICIAN knew that only His
BLOOD can wipe away this epidemic VIRUS, so for you and me
He went to the blood transfusion room where people were about to die.
There He lay down on the bed made of WOOD.
The surgeons walk into the room. They turn this GREAT PHYSICIAN on His
back. Instead of using an IV, a WHIP with sharp glass, etc is used to
draw out the BLOOD from the GREAT PHYSICIAN'S back! It does not stop
there but to elevate the head on the bed of wood, a CROWN OF THORNS is
used which draws more BLOOD.
As the head is elevated, the GREAT PHYSICIAN's hands are stretched wide
on the wooden bed. Then the feet are bound together. This is done for
the BLOOD transfusion to begin. Instead of using an IV, NAILS and a
HAMMER are used. The NAILS are pounded through the hands into the wooden
bed with a HAMMER so the BLOOD flows and that BLOOD is saved. The NAILS
are pounded through the feet into the wooden bed with a HAMMER so more
BLOOD flows and that BLOOD is saved. As the BLOOD continues to flow from
the GREAT PHYSICIAN's body, the GREAT PHYSICIAN flat lines. Then the
surgeons insert a SPEAR into the heart to make sure all the BLOOD is
out. All the BLOOD is out!
Now this BLOOD was poured out into 'BLOOD
DONOR' bags to be collected for anyone who wanted a transfusion to be
healed of this deadly VIRUS known as SIN. In essence, it is the BLOOD
that was shed at Golgotha on the CROSS of wood that has the power to
SAVE.
The BLOOD is available for NOTHING BUT THE
BLOOD could become the antidote for humanity's deteriorating condition
caused by the DEADLY VIRUS.
Now the CALVARY HOSPITAL OF SALVATION has a
BLOOD DONOR whose BLOOD can be used to save everyone there from this
EPIDEMIC VIRUS.
Those dying need to be taken there to receive the BLOOD transfusion that
is available. However, the BLOOD will not be forced upon those dying!
THE PUREST RED ANTIDOTE is only given to those that are willing to
receive the BLOOD TRANSFUSION so they could LIVE.
All that accept the BLOOD transfusion are being CLEANSED of this
EPIDEMIC VIRUS in their system that is infecting the mind, body, and
soul. This BLOOD goes into the dying person's mind, body, and soul and
eats away at the virus, cleaning them and making them pure. This VIRUS
is known as SIN. The BLOOD is the PRECIOUS CLEANSING BLOOD OF THE GREAT
PHYSICIAN, JESUS CHRIST.
72 HOURS LATER, there is a commotion at the JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA MORGUE.
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN is not there anymore and the ANGELS that visit tell
loved ones who came there, that THE GREAT PHYSICIAN IS ALIVE.
Those at the CALVARY HOSPITAL OF SALVATION come to realize that His
CLEANSING BLOOD will never run out. Anyone infected who wants to be
healed can accept what JESUS did for them that one day on the CROSS of
WOOD at CALVARY near the ward called GOLGOTHA and be covered in His
precious CLEANSING BLOOD forever.
Friend, this happened 2000 years ago! It needed to happen only once! JESUS paid the
price for you and me so that we could have the ANTIDOTE forever, for His
cleansing BLOOD shed on the CROSS of WOOD will never deplete but will be
available for all races of humanity forever until the JUDGMENT DAY.
We need to accept the ANTIDOTE through a
TRANSFUSION before JUDGMENT DAY because after that the BLOOD won't be
available anymore to SAVE.
Now is the TIME OF SALVATION while you are
alive! Don't let the BLOOD JESUS SHED be in vain. JESUS became the DONOR
for you so accept the TRANSFUSION free of charge. It is given as a GIFT
OF GRACE!
You can forever be SAVED and allow JESUS to
TRANSFORM you. JESUS did not remain in the JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA MORGUE
forever but after 72 HOURS came back to LIFE to SAVE. So let us
accept what Jesus did for us and be SAVED! There is a reason it is
called CALVARY HOSPITAL OF SALVATION!
Jesus did it so we can have a relationship with
Him who is our Heavenly Father. God came as God-incarnate to save
humanity. He paid the debt we could never pay back. The least we can do
is celebrate FATHER'S DAY everyday because of what our Heavenly Father
has done for us.
"This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28, NIV)
"Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:53-54, NIV)
"For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice
of atonement,through faith in his blood." (Romans 3:23-25a,
NIV)
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now
been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's
wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having
been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5:8-10,
NIV)
"In
him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with
all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV)
"But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the
blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13, NIV)
"For God was pleased to have all his fullness
dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his
blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:19-20, NIV)
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,so that
we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a
new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the
sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:14-15, NIV)
"May the God of peace, who through the blood of
the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing
his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20-21, NIV)
His grace is for you too friend! You can receive it and become a
child of God. He will take care of you and get you through. You can
experience His grace in Christ Jesus for your spirit. For the Lord heals
the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.
Before I shared with you about my dad and about Father God, now I
want to share with you an interview conducted on WORD-FM 101.5 about a
dad who has raised 8 wonderful kids with his wife as He and his wife have
always depended on their Heavenly Father having a relationship with Jesus Christ!
They continue to do that even to this day with those that are still
children.
May you turn to your Heavenly Father who loves you so much that He
has given you His Word full of promises! Amen!
"Faithfully Answers Today Helpfully
Everlasting Redeemer!" (F.A.T.H.E.R)"What
have you done for your F.A.T.H.E.R in life?"
PRAYER:
Oh Heavenly Father, O Light of the world, I seek you. I know that step
by step you can guide me and lead me. I want to thank you so much for
the earthly father's you have given us. Thank you for dad's in this
world and those that are already with you. I pray for those that still
do not know you here on earth that they give their lives to you.
Thank you for your
awesome love and everything you do that shows your glory. Lord, many
times our concept of you is based on our own concept of our earthly
father. Our concept becomes distorted especially when we do not have a
positive encounter with our earthly father. Forgive us Lord when that
happens, we can sometimes project that to you. I pray that you
work in the hearts of earthly fathers to become loving towards their
children always as they take you as their example that they may not
exasperate their children but love them as you love them imitating you.
Father God, thank you for your awesome love that you have lavished upon
us that we should be called your dear children. This alone makes me
excited Father God for my view of you does not have to be based on my
interaction here on earth. On the contrary, your Word is filled with how
much you love me and have encompassed me with your grace. Thank you
Father God. Please help me to always look to you and depend on
you Father God. Thank you that I can call you Father. You will be there
for me always and your love will never cease. Every thing that has
breath should praise you Lord. Forgive us of our sins and please help us
to live for you. Thank you for the grace you bestow upon our spirit as
your children in Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing us and answering
us. In Jesus Name I Pray Father God! Amen!
May you experience the POWER OF
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your
life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the
film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes
to give JOY and PEACE.
You
don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and
give you peace to live out your actions.
How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?
One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this
example one Sunday at the
RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh
Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:
If
you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin
and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no
peace.
But
as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to
tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.
Yes,
friend God is alive and wants to bring a transformation in your life
through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on
the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and live
with us.
Yes,
friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE
& LIVING GRACE.
When
we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive
us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.
"Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God." (Colossians 5:17-21, NIV)
"For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his
Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our
sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge
so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the
finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the
Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!
If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's army, you can become it right now.
Now is the time of Salvation! You do not have to wait but can pray this prayer
and give your life to Christ to serve Him daily! There is no draft but coming to
Christ is voluntary. He loves you so much and wants you to come to Him! He will
take care of you, guiding you and leading you!
Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so
much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of
Man and lived here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to
death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You
died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your
blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being
my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried
to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you
for all that you have done for me. The cross is the place, a wonderful place
where accused and condemned find mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus, it is at the
cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the
cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you
gave your life for us. I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to
life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving
me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something
that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to live
for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never
repay you. I want to live for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I
thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me.
Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you
Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray
precious Jesus! Amen!
No matter what you feel in your heart,
know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To
make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him
as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the
Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into
prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel
of John or Gospel of
Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord
show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to
help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches
the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our
crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But
beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but
there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.
As a professional, it is not too late to join a
church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this new year of 2009! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His
love now and forever! Amen!
Friend, if you have prayed this
prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and
all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may
feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your
new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave
you nor forsake you! Amen!
Spend time in His word and let the Lord
speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out
the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through.
Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church
fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be
part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the
Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in
Bible Live Eternally!
Feel free to email me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible,
pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My
number is 412-720-4579
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Devotional of yesterday:
"Why will you be A.S.H.A.M.E.D of Jesus in
life?" (June 19, 09, 9:00 a.m.)
There are many things in this world
we should be ASHAMED of in life and should not even be engaged in. Jesus called this
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Oakland
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Sundays at 10:00 a.m. near North Dithridge St. followed by Sunday School at
11:30 a.m. and fellowship lunch at 12:30 p.m.
Book
Review of "Lord Change My Attitude Before It's Too Late" “McDonald's Mesmerizes
Lovingly, Leading Searching SOULs!”(June
04, 09, 2:51 p.m.) "Lord Change My Attitude:
Before It's Too Late!" is a mesmerizing book of 224
pages that will keep you glued to your seat bringing to life the
attitudes that have brought you down into the wilderness using Biblical
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