“Forgetting Our Redeemer Gives
Eternal Tears! (F.O.R.G.E.T)”
By Ramesh
C.Reddy Pittsburgh Standard
May
08, 2009
Editors Note: The devotional has a background song by called which can be heard if you use Internet
Explorer.
SCRIPTURE:
“His
disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get
enough bread to feed them?" (Mark 8:4, NIV)
Observations:
How do the disciples react?
"But where in this remote place
can anyone
get enough bread
to feed them?"
Interpretation:
I asked myself the significance of the
disciples response?
One thing for sure is that the disciples were earthly minded
still and were definitely aware of their surroundings and where the
people were at for the 3-day retreat with Jesus. They call the place
that the
crowd, disciples, and Jesus were at to be a remote place, making the inference that
there are not any stores nearby for anyone to get enough bread.
By
making the declaration 'can anyone' they have also included Jesus as
part of anyone. This shows that the disciples either were very forgetful
of what Jesus has been doing while He is with them or still lacking
faith in the power of Jesus to do miracles even in remote places.
The
disciples should have remembered how Jesus fed the 5000+ before and yet
they question Jesus with 'where can anyone get
enough bread to feed them?' when
Jesus was so concerned for these people who were with Him for 3
days based on "Jesus
called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these
people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to
eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because
some of them have come a long distance." (Mark 1b-3, NIV)
Implications:
I saw important
implications for my own life based on the question the disciples asked
Jesus. The disciples were so focused on the circumstances they were in
such as being in a remote place where there were no stores, having to
deal with a big crowd to feed without knowing where the food would come
from, and leaning on to their own understanding when they used the
phrase 'can anyone' that they FORGET who Jesus is and what Jesus had
already done.
HOW GOSPEL HAS AFFECTED MY TESTIMONY REGARDING
F.O.R.G.E.T:
Sadly I have been no
different from the disciples many times. There have been days when I
have forgotten what Jesus has already done in my life when I have faced
difficulty instead of focusing on the One who has the solutions.
I have seen the miracles Jesus
did in my life and those around me and yet when I am faced with
circumstances that make me feel that I am in a remote place with no way
out, I have given into that mentality. I have leaned on to my own
understanding to the point that I did not give the Lord the opportunity
to direct my path and lead my path with success. I should always take
God's promises at His Word and claim them:
"Trust in the Lord
completely and lean not on to your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths and crown your efforts
with success!" (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Last night, I was
talking to a friend of mine and realized how often I lean on to my own
understanding. I had told the person that I stepped down from a
leadership position because of conflict internal and external that made
me want to do other things. The external conflict had to do with my
internal conflict.
My internal conflict was
dealing with a CRITICAL, COMPLAINING, COVETOUS, DOUBTFUL, and REBELLIOUS
ATTITUDE on my part. I felt that leaving a leadership position because
of those attitudes on my part would be in the best interests of everyone
so as to curb the EXTERNAL CONFLICTS that would result.
On the surface, who
would argue that a leader should have those attitudes?
No one would! People don't want leaders like that so I wanted to step
down.
The PROBLEM:
I forgot about who the Lord is and what the Lord wants to do in my life.
Just as the disciples FORGOT that Jesus had already fed 5000+ before
this incident and crowd, I FORGOT that me being in a leadership position
was because of the Lord placing me there. The Lord already saw what
internal and external conflicts I would face and yet He chose me to be a
leader in that position.
Instead of staying there
and allowing Christ to work in my life through the problems and sins I
face as only He can, I resigned even without telling the Lord about it.
I did not even spend time with the Lord before making that decision. I
leaned on to my own understanding and FORGOT about Proverbs 3:5-6.
My friend reminded me
last night after the National Day of Prayer meeting that I made a wrong
decision to step down because every leader the Lord chose had flaws in
their character and yet the Lord used them for His honor and glory. He
reminded me about a video we had watched long time ago about all the
biblical charactersTHAT GOD HAD CALLED TO HIS WORK, who had tremendous
flaws but they did not just step down.
He also reminded me, it
is one thing for me to STEP DOWN ON MY OWN and ANOTHER THING FOR THE
LORD TO REMOVE ME.
He told me when he has a
leadership position even if he becomes very discouraged and wants to
quit, he will never step down on his own because he believes whatever
leadership position he gets will be from the Lord and only the Lord
should have the authority to remove him and not himself.
He made me see I should
have followed that path of letting the Lord Jesus remove me from a
leadership position instead of leaning on to my own understanding and
all the sins I face. If the Lord wanted to remove me from that position,
He could have done that multiple times. I did not have to make a
decision without consulting the Lord Jesus but I did. I did because I
FORGOT.
I forgot who Jesus is
and the blessing it was to have been chosen to do His work. I forgot
that I am not my own but was bought with a price of BLOOD by the One who
chose me to serve where He placed me. I was focusing too much on the
circumstances I was faced with and the mountains I was dealing with
instead of the One who could help me overcome those circumstances.
In essence, I made a
mistake in stepping down but that's what happens when we lean on to our
own understanding and make decisions in haste. There is a saying, 'Haste
Makes Waste'. But those kinds of decisions usually happen when we don't
bring Jesus into the picture.
We forget how much Jesus
wants to be involved in all facets of our life and not only some. He
wants all the areas of our lives to be subject to Him and not keep some
for ourselves. I am no different from the disciples who saw the miracles
of Jesus and yet forgot what Jesus could still do.
I made the same mistake
but just as Jesus did not scold the disciples or get upset because they
keep forgetting who they are with and what He can do in their lives,
Jesus formed a solution which will be evident later.
In the same way, when I
stepped down, Jesus made me see gently how wrong I was in leaning on to
my own understanding. More than that, He drew me closer to Him. Jesus
made me see gently that the position Jesus gave me I had turned down on
my own because I did not depend on Him. Oh how true that was.
When we forget who Jesus
is and what He wants to do in our lives, we put ourselves in a
precarious position. The Good News however is that the Lord Jesus does
not let us stay in our mistakes and sin. He deals with us by sending
different persons our way.
Jesus could have been
like, "Those disciples I have chosen are useless because they just don't
get it and keep forgetting and complaining. They are critical and
doubtful."
But Jesus did not,
instead he always met them where they were at especially in their
mistakes. It is in their mistakes, He showed them His abundant love and
grace.
In the same way, Jesus
could have been like, "I am very disappointed with Ramesh because he
leaned on to his own understanding and stepped down from a position I
chose for him. He does not remember all the times I brought him through
internal and external conflict. It is useless to minister unto him"
Human beings get
frustrated and think in those terms but not our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. That's because of the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not
just that we were sinners and Jesus died and came back to life to save
us.
The Gospel of Jesus
Christ goes beyond that. It deals directly with all facets of our lives
which the Lord Jesus is making me see more and more.
I have seen the Lord's
grace in my life abundantly this past week even after my mistakes. Yeah,
I cannot undo what I already did because the leadership position was
given to others but He let me learn from my mistakes. If the Lord calls
me to another leadership position in His timing, I pray I will not
let forgetfulness of His character and His ways, to make me do decisions
in haste. IF HE GIVES, HE ONLY HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE IT AWAY. IT IS NOT
UP TO ME TO QUIT AND GIVE UP.
If I do that, I will
miss out on the blessings He wants to shower because I leaned on to my
own understanding.
I was reminded of what
God told Esther when Esther was chosen to lead the Jewish people out of
their predicament:
"For
if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews
will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will
perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such
a time as this?" (Esther 4:14, NIV)
God in His sovereignty
gives us opportunities to use the free will He has given us for His
honor, glory, and purposes but He never makes a mistake.
Because I stepped down
from leadership did not mean God made a mistake in choosing me. No, God
already knew I would do that but He still chose me for His purposes and
to work in areas of my life especially, 'LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN
UNDERSTANDING'
If Esther had not agreed
to do what she did, deliverance would have still come but she would have
missed out on the blessings.
There are areas in my
life I have missed out on blessings because of my decisions but the GOOD
NEWS is that it has never been permanent. Praise the Lord! God uses weak
and broken vessels and makes them what He wants them to be.
The Good News of the
Gospel is even when we mess up and quit in areas of our lives, the Lord
Jesus is sovereign to work in us through our mistakes and sin. He will
never leave us where we are at and in our mistakes. But He will always
send others into our lives to prune us so we can bear fruit that will
last. That is because of HIS TRANSFORMING GRACE.
"Remain
in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it
must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in
me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I
in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing....
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear
fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you
ask in my name." (John 15:4-5,16, NIV)
Jesus knew I would
resign and yet He chose me. He did that because of His sovereignty and
had also chosen wonderful leaders in advance to replace me when I made
my unwise decision. When I stepped down there were others to take my
place and be a blessing to those around them including me.
It was a divine
appointment that I had that conversation with that friend last night. It
was Jesus telling me that He is not done with me yet.
I was not in a leadership position because
I had everything together but because the Lord chose me to be in that
LEADERSHIP POSITION.
Lest I be misunderstood, I am not saying
IT IS OKAY TO KEEP SINNING AND REMAIN IN A LEADERSHIP POSITION, IF THE
SIN IS REBELLIOUS AND WE ARE NOT WILLING TO BE CHANGED BY THE LORD. IF
WE WANT TO BE CHANGED BY THE LORD THEN LET HIM WORK IN US EVEN IN A
LEADERSHIP POSITION WITHOUT RESIGNING.
If Jesus wants to remove you from a
leadership position, it will happen so you need not remove yourself.
Scripture is clear about those that have been removed from a position of
power even though God chose them first: King Saul, Judas Iscariot,
Pharoah, etc.
If you have turned from
the Lord and want to do things your own way without DEPENDENCE on the
Lord like mentioned in yesterday's devotional, you can be removed but it
will be the Lord's doing and not your own. Don't take the leadership
position God gave you and make your own decisions with it. Don't follow
in my footsteps. The Gospel is here to free all of us. I should not have
forgotten that.
"Then
Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God
for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and
seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the
wise and knowledge to the discerning." (Daniel 2:19b-21, NIV)
Walk in the Lord's grace
instead of making decisions on your own. He is in control and subject
your lives to Him for all He has done by His SAVING GRACE.
Our walk with Christ
does not end by HIS SAVING GRACE alone. When we are JUSTIFIED BY HIS
GRACE, our Christian adventure has just begun. Salvation is the
beginning of the adventure. We are saved for eternity in Christ Jesus
but the ADVENTURE is based on SANCTIFICATION BY HIS GRACE here on earth.
It won't affect our SALVATION. Christ paid for our Salvation with His
BLOOD. He will not refund us for we are covered in His blood for
eternity. Praise the Lord!
God's GRACE is not just
to SAVE us from our sins but LIVE our lives by His GRACE.
There is a book I am
reading right now that I did not like to read before but would recommend
now as God's been working in my life through Pastor Ed, Pastor Hugo, and
Edwin. It is called TRANSFORMING GRACE by Jerry Bridges.
Books like that are
necessary because there are so many times we FORGET what Jesus did for
us on the Cross at Calvary and live our lives like we have FORGOTTEN
that WE HAVE BEEN SAVED AND REDEEMED BY THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE when we
have turned ourselves over to Him. We forget all the ETERNAL BLESSINGS
BELONG TO US NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN ADOPTED INTO HIS KINGDOM.
Instead, in our
forgetfulness, we are so quick to focus on our problems instead of the
One who came to give solutions. I know I have been guilty of that.
Friend, if you forget
everything from this testimony of how the Lord has been using His Gospel
to transform my life, please don't forget this.
Transformation by His
Grace is a result of HIS DOING and NOT OUR DOING. None of us can
transform our lives on our own so FORGET those SELF-HELP books for even
those without the Lord's intervention cannot give you lasting help.
The people were fed
because Jesus intervened. Jesus wants to intervene in your lives too
just as He did in mine. It starts with us realizing how useless and
worthless we really are apart from the saving and redemptive work of
Christ in our lives. It is sin that makes us worthless.
Oh, you may say but I am not worthless but somebody?
Really?
I used to think along
those lines too but if God sees all our righteous acts as filthy rags
(meaning like a women's menstrual cycle cloth), how can we be worthy of
anything. The righteous things we do apart from Christ is seen as filthy
rags. That means we are worthless in God's sight.
"All
of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts
are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind
our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold
of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away
because of our sins." (Isaiah 64:6-7, NIV)
But that's not the end. For that is why Jesus
Christ came into this world to make us feel worthy and rest in Him. This
is not anything we have done but the work the Lord has already begun.
Though our works are like filthy rags and our sin has separated us from
the Father, the Father has never abandoned us.
"Yet, O LORD, you are our
Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your
hand." (Isaiah 64:8, NIV)
The work God began, He
began with sending Christ into this world to redeem you and me.
"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John
3:16-17, NIV)
We are somebody now
because of what God in His love did for us through Jesus Christ when we
accept His free gift of grace. Jesus came to redeem us by His
blood and set us free from the bondage of sin and death.
That is so exciting for
me that even when I mess up, I am taken back to the cross and find my
hope, help, and healing at the Cross of Jesus Christ by His redemptive
power.
That can happen for you
too friend. Yes, it can because we will be adopted into His family and
He will work in us and through us for His honor and glory. Praise the
Lord. Friend, He calls you and me by name. Wow!
"Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his
glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 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. And he made known to us the mystery of his
will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be
put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to
bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even
Christ." (Ephesians 1:3-10, NIV)
I
ask you now dear friend, what do you forget in life?
Dear friend, there are things in our lives, it is worth forgetting about
especially if those things will keep us in bondage and we cannot move
on. There are other things in our lives we should never forget about
such as the memories of our loved ones and how much they mean to us,
what loving way people have served us, and especially what Jesus has
done for us in our lives.
The disciples were
stressed out and in bondage to the circumstances they were exposed to
because they forgot about what Jesus had already done in their lives and
those around them previously. Now, they are faced with the same
situation and instead of telling Jesus, 'Lord, let's take care of it
like you fed the 5000, their response is that enough bread to feed them
cannot be found by anyone in this remote place. They already forgot. We
do not know why they forgot but we can know why we forget.
Friend, when we take our
mind and focus off Jesus and are too focused on the problems at hand, we
will get so stressed out hoping for a solution to the problem that we do
not ask the One who can give us the solution to the problems at hand.
Jesus loves you so much and does not want you to forget what He has done
for you in the past, what He can do for you now, and what He will do for
you.
Yes, we will be placed
in situations in our lives that we put ourselves in a position to forget
what Jesus wants to do for us if we are not focused on Christ. I do not
want that for you or for me. You already read what happened to me.
We should never forget
why Jesus came into this world and what Jesus did for us. Jesus came
into this world to save wretched human beings like you and me when we
have been in bondage to sin. Yes, friend regardless of whether your life
is going well or not, we all are in bondage to sin. The thing with
bondage is that we cannot be set free on our own but we need outside
deliverance and that is what Jesus came to give.
Jesus died on the cross
on the hill of Calvary for you and me at the place called Golgotha so
your sins and my sins can be nailed to the cross and His precious blood
that flowed could cleanse us of all our sins and set us free. Yes,
friend it is the precious cleansing blood of Jesus Christ that set me
free from my bondage to sin and can set you free too. The Good News is
it did not end at the cross but after Jesus was buried, Jesus came back
to life on the 3rd day to save, to save all those that come to Him by
His grace. This is exciting to know.
Do not give up or forget
what Jesus meant to you in the past and what Jesus did for you and what
He can still do for you now and later.
You may have come to
know Jesus and love Him so much, you may have even been involved in
youth group and fellowships but now you feel far away because the things
of this world have had a grasp on you. It is not too late to come back
to Jesus. You may have forgot about Jesus but Jesus has not forgotten
about you and what you mean to Him.
Jesus loves you as you
are and waits with open arms for you to come back to Him. Jesus will
never forget you and waits for that day to receive you back in His arms
of love. Right now maybe things are satisfying in your life that you
think you do not need Jesus but everyone needs Jesus and that is why He
came into this world.
He wants me to let you
know that He is reaching out to you. He still loves you so much even if
you have forgotten everything Jesus did for you. Come back to Jesus and
give your life to Him to experience His love, grace, and mercy.
Maybe things have
happened so bad in your life that you do not want to have anything to do
with this Jesus but Jesus wants to have everything to do with you. He
wants to be part of your life to guide you and lead you. Yes, He does
friend.
So even when things are
bad in life, with Jesus we can have the strength to deal with the strife
as He will lead when we upon Him and His Word feed. The Lord gives us
strength to bear what comes our way for we will always be in His care
each day! He loves you and calls you by Name.
"I
took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called
you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not
rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for
I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:9-10, NIV)
If you have never given
your life to Christ now is the time of Salvation! Come as you are and
give yourself to Jesus for He will never forget you! Amen!
May you never forget
what Jesus did for you on the cross and in your life! Amen!
"Forgetting
Our Redeemer Gives Eternal Tears!" (F.O.R.G.E.T)/"What do you F.O.R.G.E.T in life?"
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving us dearly and that we are
so precious and special in your sight. Thank you for caring for the
spiritual and physical needs of the crowd that was near you. And thank
you Lord for testing the disciples to work in their lives. Oh Lord the
disciples forgot what you already did before and how true it is of us
too. When we are faced with circumstances in our lives that look bleak
we lean on to our own understanding instead of looking to you who can
help us overcome our circumstances or give us strength to endure through
it. Forgive me Lord for I have been guilty of that. I have also been
guilty of taking what you did on the cross for me lightly because if I
remembered always that you went to the cross to save me, I would know how much more
you would do for me Lord. Yet, I forget. Forgive me Lord. Thank you for
being there for me, for dying my sin, and coming back to life to save
me. Thank you for redeeming me by your BLOOD. I love you Lord. I pray for the one that has forgotten about you
that they would come back to you Lord. Please protect them from the
enemies lies and draw them close to you and never let them go. Thank you
so much Jesus. Thank you for your love and help in our lives. In Your
Name I Pray Jesus! 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 this past 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)
May
you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior becoming
His offspring so you can spend Eternity with Him. He is waiting for you.
Come as you are. Please do not reject the gift of God.
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart and finding your new
identity in Christ Jesus.
Make this your prayer. Don’t let
the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before
coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the
answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly.
Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!
Make this your prayer. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking
you need all the answers before coming to Christ. Let me just assure you
though you may not have all the answers right now before coming to
Jesus, He will answer them slowly. Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer
will! Amen!
Prayer:
Jesus, I thank you for being the Bread of Life. You are the Living Bread
of my life. Thank you for coming from Heaven and giving your life for
the life of the world. You sacrificed yourself for humanity. Thank you
Lord when we eat of you symbolically making you part of our life,
digesting what you teach us by following you, we can be living
Eternally, and the fruit that comes will reflect and resemble your life.
I want that Father God. I want that Lord Jesus! I want that Holy Spirit!
I know of a lot of people who partake of Holy Communion where the bread
represents your body broken for their sin and the juice represents your
blood shed for their sin. When we partake of Holy Communion, we are
reminded that we are remembering you. I want to remember you always Lord
Jesus. But for me to remember you always, I need to know you and
acknowledge everything you said you are. So right now I acknowledge that
you are my Lord and Personal Savior who died and rose again to give me
life from sin. So right now, I come to you and say how sorry I am for my
sin and living a life on my own. I repent of my sin and ask you to
forgive me of my sin with your cleansing blood which I accept. Wash me
and I will be clean from this infection of sin. Come Lord Jesus and
please become part of my life as you live in me and I will live for you.
I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your
home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve
you the rest of the days of my life. I do need your Spirit to reside in
me and work in me and through me so I surrender all that I am and will
be to you. Whatever your will is for me, please give me the strength and
willingness to bear it and rejoice in you. Thank you so much Jesus. I
thank you Jesus for becoming my Lord and Personal Savior. I thank you
Jesus you have heard my prayer and have answered me. I thank you that I
am your child Oh God. I thank you for becoming my only Way to Eternal
Life. In Your Name I Pray 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)
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
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