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In context, Paul is talking about the glories of the New Covenant of God. He is rejoicing in the wonderful promises that are founded on the blood of Christ, the gospel that removes all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ from the condemnation of the Law, for the free gift of God is eternal life to all who believe on Christ. Because of the glories of the wonderful gospel of Christ, where the life and light of salvation flows to all who believe, Paul rejoices to teach the good news of God's saving grace and to set out the truth of Scripture because he knew that it was only by God's grace that he himself had been saved. Because of the glories contained in the gospel of Christ, Paul does not get discouraged, even when those that he is teaching choose not to listen to the good news, but reject the truth of God's amazing grace. It is not God's will that anyone should perish, but that all come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus – but God gives every single man and woman A Choice To Believe In The Lord Jesus Christ and be saved or to reject the gospel of grace and be condemned. Men and women who choose to close their minds to the gospel of God's grace are those that are perishing. Day by day, let us be those that continue to rejoice in the wonderful gospel of Christ. The more we open our hearts to Him, the more He will show Himself to us. 2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  Our United Prayer:
Father, we thank You that You sought us and found us. Keep our hearts ever open to Your truth. We pray that many who hear the gospel today, will open their hearts to Your truth of the new covenant of grace and trust the Lord Jesus as Savior. In His name we Pray, AMEN
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When God created the world, it was good. Indeed, God saw that all that He had made was very good. Although we can truly say that He made everything with resplendent beauty, everything He made was fitting and just right. God created us with a yearning for the eternal; a desire to discover all the answers of time and eternity. We are born with a human restlessness deep within our mortal spirit. As one writer described it: "There is a God-shaped hole within the heart of every person," a longing for what is eternal, which Christ alone can fill. Throughout the course of history, humanity continues its endless search for something that is beyond human knowledge. The human race marches on, seeking answers that are beyond our comprehension because our infinite, unfathomable, God has designed us with a hunger for more, a hunger that nothing but He Himself can suffice. It is when we are willing to surrender to the sovereignty of God and acknowledge that He is the all-powerful God Whose ways are past finding out, and that we are His dependent creatures, that our inner restlessness is stilled. Indeed, the more we understand that the Lord is in control, that He alone can solve the mysteries of the universe, that He Is The Author And Finisher Of Our Faith, and our future times are in His hands, that we are enabled to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own, limited understanding or attempt to find answers from our own, inadequate imagination. God has done all things appropriately and well, and He has set eternity in the heart of all mankind so that those who seek Him with all their heart will find rest for their soul in Him and receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Christ. He has promised that whosoever will, may come. Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we truly worship and praise You, that You are our great Creator Who has made everything beautiful in its time and appropriate to complete Your plans and purposes. Thank You that You made us in Your image and likeness and that in Your grace have set eternity in the hearts of all people. Help us to surrender to Your sovereign will, to establish You on the throne of our lives, and to trust You to fulfil Your perfect plan and purposes in each of our lives. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. All humanity has sinned, and every man and woman needs the gospel of salvation for all are dead in trespasses and sins and all are without hope in the world. But in His grace, God formulated a plan that would redeem fallen mankind from the kingdom of darkness and transfer them into the kingdom of His dear Son; a plan that would not compromise His perfect justice: "For the wages of sin is death," but Christ shed His blood on the Cross to pay that price in full, for all who would believe. God further supplied humanity with an internal witness that speaks of His great power, glorious majesty, and supreme goodness, for man was created with a mind to think, a free-will to choose, and a conscience with which to inform those decisions. Every Member Of The Human Race Needs The Gospel Of Salvation. Every human being is in need of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the God Who made them. Sadly, many have chosen to use their mind, will, and emotion to disbelieve the clear evidences of His internal witness and external testimony: "Those who believe are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the only begotten son of God." Romans 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the two witnesses of creation and conscience that speak so clearly of Your great glory and the wonder of Your works. We pray that we will never lose that wonder of Who You are, as we reflect on Your mighty, creative acts. We pray that our consciences will ever be tender toward You. May we respond to the inner promptings of Your Spirit when we are tempted to sin, and help us to become increasingly conscious of Your leading and guiding within. Thank You that You sent Your only begotten Son to die for us so that we might live. Help us to live as You would have us live, in utter dependence upon You, with self nailed to the Cross. In Jesus' name we Pray, Amen. This beautiful Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible and its focus, from beginning to end, is the Word of God. God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The Word of God teaches and trains us, it regulates and rules our thinking. It gives peace to the righteous and strength to the weak. It nourishes and feeds us and gives witness to the truth. The Word Of God Revives And Refreshes Us, and we are exhorted to hide God's Word in our heart for the Word of God stands fast for ever and ever. And we are encouraged to meditate on the wonderful things in the Word of God day and night, His Word is eternal and true. But those that love the Lord Jesus and are saved by the blood of the Lamb are hated by the enemy of our soul, and His cruel attacks on the children of God can be sustained and dangerous. We must be watchful and wary of his ploys, he seeks to twist the truth of God's Word, causing us to question God's faithfulness and damage our witness and walk. We live in an evil and Christ-rejecting world, but when the enemy comes in like a flood: when our soul cleaves to the dust of the ground and when our heart is faint and weary, let us call to mind the many precious promises in the Word of God which are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us hide ourselves in the cleft of our Rock, He alone revives our fainting soul, according to God's Word. Psalm 119:25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, how we love Your Word, the many truths it contains, and the light and refreshment we receive from its pages each day. Thank You that Christ Jesus is the Word made flesh and that all the promises in Your written Word are 'yes' and 'amen' in Him. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. Jesus Christ made the Law of no effect by giving His sinless life to pay the full price of all sin, which was the only payment that a holy God could accept. Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ (the perfect Son of God and sinless Son of Man), could satisfy the righteous demands of God Who had decreed that the wages of sin is death. Jesus died to pay that price for you, for me, and for all who would trust in Christ as Savior, and in so doing, Jesus made the commands and demands of the Law of no effect for all who trust in Him. Jesus paid the price of sin for all people, but Jesus made the Law of no effect for all who would believe on His name. Although the sins of the unsaved have been paid for by the blood of Christ, they remain under the condemnation of the Law because they have not believed on the only begotten Son of God. But there is no condemnation to those that believe in Jesus Christ as Savior because His shed blood nullifies the condemnation of the Law for all who will trust in His name. The Blood Of Christ Has Removed The Curse Of The Law and made it of no effect for all who trust in His name, whether they be Jew or Gentile: "And whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Ephesians 2:15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,  Our United Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You that You loved us so much that You would willingly come to earth to suffer and die so that the effect of the Law might be nullified in the lives of all who trust in Your shed blood for salvation. Thank You that in Christ, we have peace with God and are no longer under the condemnation of the Law, and thank You that we have the peace of God in our hearts. Help us to live holy lives to Your honor and glory. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. The warm gentleness and tender-hearted forgiveness in Paul's chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13, identifies LOVE As The Foundational Fruit Of The Spirit from which all other gifts and graces grow. Love is also a gift of the Spirit because it is only as we abide in Him and He in us, that we can love as Christ loved, as we allow the love of Christ to flow through us to others. Here, in Peter's first epistle, we find another important teaching on love, which is condensed into one tiny verse by the big, Galilean fisher-of-men. Such love does not wink at sin, nor does it translate imperfections into destructive criticism, but is gracious toward the faults of others and patient with their defects. Such love applauds the good qualities they find in others while speaking the truth in love. They encourage others in their Christian walk. They forgive past offenses. By faith, we have received God's eternal forgiveness. His unconditional and unrestricted forgiveness. There is nothing that can separate us from His love, for past, present, and future sins have been washed in the sea of His amazing forgiveness, and His vast ocean of forgetfulness, and we are cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unconditional and unrestricted forgiveness. Thank You that as far as the east is from the west, is the distance that our sins have been removed from us. Thank You for this truth, that love covers a multitude of sins. We pray that we would not misuse this verse and simply tolerate all sin, or wink at sin, but love as Christ loved us, loving and forgiving in grace and truth. We pray, that we may reflect Christlikeness in all our dealings with others, so that the glory goes to You. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. Although it is the second shortest book in the Old Testament, Haggai is compacted with spiritual insights and gems of wisdom. He was one of the post-captivity prophets who ministered to those who had returned to Jerusalem, during the times of Ezra and Zerubbabel. The New Covenant was cut at Calvary through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, but Israel rejected their Messiah and the covenant He cut at Calvary. This New and Better Covenant, has yet to be instituted at His Second Coming. However, by God's grace, Christians have been blessed abundantly by the New Covenant, which the Lord promised to Israel through Jeremiah the prophet. By God's grace, WE who believe on the Lord Jesus have been made ministers of this New and Better Covenant. Until it is fully ratified at the end of the Great Tribulation, Christians are God's Ministers of Reconciliation. The Body of Christ, which is the Church, are Ministers of Reconciliation in this Church Dispensation, and today we function as Living Stones, that are being built up into a spiritual Temple. Although the book of Haggai is addressed to Israel, every part of Scripture is profitable for all of God's children, and there is much that we, Christians, can learn from this punchy little book, which shows The Value That God places On Godly Service And Humble Obedience, even when circumstances are difficult and dangerous. May we set our hearts to trust and obey the inspired Words of God. May we be careful to follow every instruction that has been given to the Christian Church in the New Testament and may we learn all He wants to teach us throughout the Holy Scripture, both Old and New. Haggai 1:4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the amazing history of Your people and the wonderful way that You use them to teach us spiritual truths and warn us of the dangers of disobedience or carelessness in our Christian lives. Thank You that we have the Holy Spirit and are living stones in the spiritual Temple of God, which is being built up for Your eternal glory. May we live and work for Your everlasting praise, and keep us from wasting the precious time we have left, or shelving important spiritual things for the sake of the urgent!!! Thank You in Jesus' name, AMEN. Men and women of God are given an abundance of Wise Instructions On How To Live Godly Lives throughout the New Testament Scriptures, and in the final part of his first epistle to Timothy, Paul sums up many of these important instructions and wise exhortations on godliness. We are to shun false teachers and flee from the proud arguments and empty philosophies of this world system. We are to flee from worldly pursuits and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness, which is honorable in God's sight. We are to fight the good fight of faith and hold fast to that which is; to the very end. We are to take hold of the eternal life to which we are all called, and we are encouraged to make a good confession of our faith in the presence of many witnesses and to do this for Christ's sake. Paul reminded Timothy that a day is coming when Christ would return to take His Church to be with Himself and that He would, at the proper time, set up His earthly kingdom which was promised to Abraham and his seed forever. He is the blessed Son of the Almighty God, the only true Sovereign Lord, the almighty King of kings and eternal Lord of lords. 1 Timothy 6:16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank You for Your grace, Your goodness, and Your unapproachable wisdom in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be our God and Savior. Thank You that He alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light - and yet in Your grace and mercy, You sent Him to become one of us, so that by His death and Resurrection, our sins might be forgiven. Thank You that by faith in Him we might be clothed in His righteousness and made sons and daughters of the eternal God to Whom be all honor and glory in the eternal dominion, AMEN. Peter was the beloved big fisherman who was called to follow the Lord that day when he was mending his nets on the banks of the Galilee. He was the one who boldly claimed by faith: "You are the Christ the Son of the living God," and Peter was also the one who, having denied his Lord three times, was thrice called to feed the flock of God. Peter here tells us that We Are The Elect Of God Because Of His Foreknowledge. It was not that God elected us to be the elect. God foreknew that we would be His elect. We are called the elect because God knew ahead of time who was going to become the elect. God foreknew who would trust Jesus as Savior. We are the elect because when we heard the gospel of grace, we trusted Christ for salvation. Because of His foreknowledge, God knew from the foundation of the world that we would become part of the elect! It is God's desire for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God does not will that anyone should perish. Indeed, He longs that all should come to repentance and faith in Christ, but God knew in advance that not all would use their free-will to make the right choice. God in His omniscience actually knew which of us would trust in Christ for salvation. He knew from before the beginning of the world who would be saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus as their sin-substitute and, and He called us His 'elect'. 1 Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You know the end from the beginning and that You foreknew that we would trust in the Lord Jesus for our salvation. Thank You that You sought us out while we were dead in our sins and that Your Holy Spirit convicted us of sin, righteousness, judgement, and our need of Jesus. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN. Philemon was a wealthy man from Colossae who came to faith in Christ through Paul's ministry and became a beloved friend of the apostle. Local believers met in his home and like many prosperous people in the Roman empire, Philemon had a number of slaves. One of his servants was called Onesimus, who stole money from his owner and fled to Rome to escape the consequences of his crime. This verse is a testimony of Philemon's developing Christian character. News had reached the apostle's ears that other believers were being refreshed through Philemon's ministry. What a joy for Paul, who not only led this man to Christ but received news of his ongoing spiritual progress in his Christian life. Paul did not want the return of his slave to ignite any unspiritual resentment or wrath in Philemon, which was probably why he composed the letter requesting the reinstatement of Onesimus in a way that honored the Lord and would develop Philemon's spiritual growth further. May we also seek to act in a similar godly manner and Obey The Instructions We Receive From Scripture in thought, word, deed, and motive, so that the testing of our faith does not cause any ungodly reaction, but demonstrates a maturing faith, a growth in grace, and a response that honors the Lord. Philemon 1:7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray that together we may grow in grace and mature in the faith as we 'gossip the gospel' together and rejoice that our names are written in heaven. Thank You that we are one in Christ and members of His Body. Thank You for the lessons we can learn from the little book of Philemon and the pointers it contains in spiritual growth, Christian love, and forgiveness. We pray that our words and actions would be pleasing in Your sight and that we may be ones that refreshes the hearts of the saints, for Your praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. Words of exhortation or warnings are frequently given to Christians, as are the consequences of ignoring such words of caution. We are exhorted to walk worthy of our calling, to contend earnestly for the faith, to abstain from earthy lusts which war against the soul, and to encourage one another while it is still called 'today' lest any of us are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. God Has Spoken To Us Through His Son, and we are exhorted not to drift from the important message that has we have received. God knows how fickle the heart of mankind is. He knows how easy it is for us to slowly drift away from the truth, to develop an indifference to the Word of God, and a fascination for the imaginations of mankind. He knows how quickly we can become neglectful of our spiritual growth and leave our first love: "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." Let us take note of the many scriptural warnings and exhortation to walk worthy of our calling, to contend earnestly for the faith, to abstain from earthy lusts which war against the soul, and to encourage one another while it is still called 'today' lest any of us are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, or simply drift away from the Lover of our soul. Hebrews 2:1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the unsurpassed pre-eminence of Jesus Christ Who is the visible image of the invisible God and Who alone is worthy of all worship and praise. Keep us looking to Jesus, and may we never drift away through indifference or neglect. May we walk worthy of our calling, anchored to the Rock of our salvation. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. The Lord Jesus was to face the most challenging event in the history of the universe. He Who had rested in the bosom of the Father and communed with Him throughout eternity, was to experience the most excruciating separation from His God and Father, an agonizing disconnection which is beyond the comprehension of frail mortal man. He has overcome the world's system, the power of the flesh, and the wiles of the devil. He paid the price of sins committed and also broke the power of cancelled sin so that old sin nature imputed from Adam to every member of the human race. He broke the power of death and hell and in so doing He poured out the most astonishing cascade of the riches of God's amazing grace on all who would believe in His name. "But Take Heart! I Have Overcome The World," are simple words from our gracious Savior, but the grace and glory that flows from His words of deep, deep comfort, will resound throughout the eternal ages to come. However dark your own life situation may be and whatever challenges you may be facing, take these words from Christ Jesus to heart: John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Our United Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for Your wonderful words of comfort and peace. We pray that in all the trials and tribulations of life, which seem to be mounting with each passing day, that our hearts and minds will rest in Jesus so that His perfect peace will carry us through all life's difficulties. Thank You that we have nothing to fear, knowing that He has overcome the world, and that His victory is our victory, simply because we trusted Him as our Savior. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. There is much confusion in the Church concerning the Gifts Of The Spirit and their correct use. The Corinthians lacked no spiritual gift. They were endowed with all-speech, enriched in all-knowledge, and equipped with great spiritual giftings as a testimony that Christ was confirmed among them, and yet we discover they were argumentative, sexually impure, and had retrogressed into unprecedented carnality, immorality, and spiritual infancy. The carnal Corinthians were exploiting their God-given spiritual gifts in an ungodly manner. They were using their gifts for self-gratification or as a means of control. Their self-indulgent, carnal behavior, presented the wrong message to the world about Christianity. Their conduct was more akin to the pagan masses than born-again children of God, and so Paul chastised them for exploiting their spiritual gifts in this ungodly way. He explained that unless they used their spiritual gifts correctly, they would be sending an indistinct message to both fellow-believers and the unsaved. Unless their spiritual gifts were used to convey the true message of God, they would convey a fuzzy and indistinct message. Just as spiritual gifts were exploited by some in those early days of the Church, there are those today who continue to use their spiritual gifts for their own purposes; for self-gratification, self-exaltation, ungodly manipulation, or to control others. Let us use the gifts and graces with which we have been endowed wisely and for God's glory, or we will be likened to the sound of an indistinct bugle which confuses others and dishonors the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?  Our United Prayer:
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your Word and the truths that are contained within its pages. we praise You for the wonderful way You taught the early Church the truths of the gospel and for protecting its message, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that we would say and do nothing that would communicate an indistinct gospel message to those we witness to. Keep our hearts pure and our actions honoring to You. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. No one but Jesus used the words "very truly I tell you," these were words that carried authority, a greater authority than any earthly jurisdiction, a sovereign command that was directly from God. Jesus wanted to get across the eternal truth that He was the door of the sheepfold; the only Good Shepherd; the one Way to God; the revealed Truth of God and everlasting Life that only comes from God. He is God in the flesh. But His disciples did not understand His words. The plain truth of God – of Who He is - The Sacrificial Lamb Of God that takes away the sin of the world, has been spelled out in Scripture in easy-to-understand words. The literal truth of fallen mankind and what he is and what he needs is similarly written in the holy Scriptures, all of which point to mankind's need of a Savior, and all of which point to Jesus as that Savior. We are the sheep and Jesus is the door of the sheep-pen, which leads to life eternal. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep Who leads and guides, protects and feeds the sheep that belong to Him. As such, we are to listen to His Word and trust what He says, all of which is written in the Word of God, the holy Scriptures. Let us pay heed to all that Jesus says. Let us trust all that the Word of God tells us. John 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  Our United Prayer:
Thank You, Father, that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and through Him, we can be restored into fellowship with You. Give us the understanding, we pray, so that we may know You better. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. Just as our letters and emails are not divided into chapters and verses, so Paul's epistles show one continuous flow of thought throughout, which the Holy Spirit has seen fit to include in the canon of Scripture for our learning. As with all Scripture, every verse should be taken in context and the factors relating to this verse are connected with holy living, godly behavior, gracious speech, and a grateful and forgiving heart. We are exhorted to let no one deceive us with empty words. Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the ones of disobedience. As Christians, We Should Not Be Led Astray by the enticing reasoning of the world which seeks to undermine the truth of God's Word, but the more one allows the mindset of the world to influence our thinking, the more that life reflects the worldly philosophy in outward behavior and the inner thoughts of the mind; all of which conflicts with the gospel truth. Now that we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are children of the light who are to have no part in ungodly behavior. To do so not only dishonors the name of the Lord Jesus but it also shipwrecks our Christian testimony. Ephesians 5:2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that although we are in the world, we are not of the world, and that our citizenship is in heaven. We pray that we will not compromise with the works of evil by slackening our resolve to live godly in Christ Jesus, but that in all things we may reflect the Lord Jesus with holy living, godly behavior, gracious speech, and a grateful and forgiving heart. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. |
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We are a growing group of people praying daily for and with others. We were led to start an online ministry to deliver what is needed more now than ever, a place where you can go to easily to submit a prayer request or requests involving others to pray for your needs. The Power of Prayer. Matthew 18:20- For where two or more come together in my name, there I am among them. You are never alone in prayer. The Power Of Numbers Praying.
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