May 29, 2018

Precious Saints Our Meditation comes from Ecc 4:9-12 ” Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their Labour . For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone ? And if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Topic: UNITY + TENACITY = STABILITY.

Some persons are familiar with the fable of the THREE BULLS AND THE BEAR.

There were three big bulls in a pen. They lived lovingly and were always together . There was a bear that was determined to kill all three bulls, but was unable to do because they were closely knitted together .
One day, one of the bulls strayed , and the bear whispered , ” Your two friends hate you. They are only pretending.” Of course he listened to the bear and started separating himself from his friends. Very soon the bear devoured him.
The others were determined not to let that happened to them, so they were even closer than before. However one day one strayed and the bear whispered again that his friend hated him . He believed the bear and was eaten by the bear. As you can imagine the third bull couldn’t manage the bear by himself, so he too was eaten.

Ps 133:1 Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. The Psalm speaks of the GOODNESS AND PLEASANTNESS OF UNITY. Jesus in St John 17 prayed for our:

1. SANCTIFICATION  V17
2. UNIFICATION  V 21-22
3. PRESERVATION V15
4. PERFECTION V23
5. GLORIFICATION V 24

Paul in 1 Cor 12 teaches that we are members belonging to the same body, so take care of each member.

In 1 Cor 3 Paul uses 4 metaphors to teach us the importance of UNITY:
1. We are children in the same FAMILY, there should be MATURITY v1-5
2. We are plants in the Same FIELD, there should be quantity. v6-8
3. We are all materials in the SAME BUILDING , there should be quality v10-15.
4. We are all priests in the SAME TEMPLE, there should be beauty. v16-23.
Eph 4: 3 says we are to endeavor to MAINTAIN THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE.

A man was speeding one day, and lost control of his car, and went into a ditch. A stranger with a horse offered to help him get out his car.

He tied his horse to the car and said , ” Pull Nell” but horse never moved. He then said, “Pull Fred” but horse made no attempt to pull. Finally the man , said ok Betsy, ” Pull”. Soon the car was out. The man was very curious why he had to call the horse by three different names. The farmer said, ” Normally my three horses work together, BETSY IS BLIND, if she knows she alone had to do the work , she wouldn’t move. So l had let her think the others were also pulling”.

Remember , a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Let’s stay together because : UNITY + TENACITY = STABILITY .

God bless us , as remind ourselves that NO MAN IS AN ISLAND. United we stand, but divided we must fall.

 

 

May 15, 2018

Our meditation comes from Judges 15:15-17 ” Samson found a new jawbone of an ass, and took it , and slew a thousand men. Then he CAST AWAY THE JAWBONE OUT OF HIS HAND.”

Samson used the jawbone just once and then cast it away. He never tried to use it again.

Somethings were meant to be used just once. Jesus in St John 9:6-7 “Spat on the ground and made clay of spittle and anointed the eyes of the blind man, and said ,’Go wash in the pool of Siloam'”.

Please note that He never used that method with Blind Bartimaeus. He just said, ” Thy faith hath made thee whole. In Acts 5:15 “They brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. Verse 16 says all of them were healed . That worked then, but should never become a doctrine .

In Acts 19:12 “From Paul’s body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases depart from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” Paul never used this method with every case. He was led of the Lord to do so, then he threw it away.

Today we have a lot of consecrated cloth, water and oil for sale. Peter warned in 2Peter 2:3 ” Through covetousness shall they with feigned(counterfeit ) words make MERCHANDISE OF YOU.

Saints walk as wise and not as fools, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-16.

In Mark 6:13, the disciples cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. In James 5:14 the elders are asked to anoint the sick with oil. Oil is a representation of the Holy Spirit who brings newness and freshness. Please note that it is not the amount of oil that’s used , but the representation that’s important. Some people behave as if it is the oil that’s doing the healing.

David used a sling to kill Goliath, but we never saw him using it again. He used even Goliath’s sword 1  Sam 21:8-9.

In Numbers 21:8 , God told Moses , ” Make thee a fiery serpent , and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”

That was only for that occasion, but would you believe that Israel kept that pole with the serpent until the time of Hezekiah. 2Kings 18:4 ” Hezekiah brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it, and he called it “Nehustan” ( a piece of brass).

It’s time to get rid of some superstitious beliefs and put your faith in God alone. Even God used the object once, doesn’t mean He is going to use it again. Like Samson throw away the old jawbone, it has served the purpose . God loves variety.

Please expect Him to use something novel each day. May we follow His leading.

Matthew 6: 16 “When ye Fast, be not , as the hypocrites.”

Precious Saints our meditation comes from Matthew 6: 16 “When ye Fast, be not , as the hypocrites.”
Please note that Jesus never said, “If you fast”. In verse 7 He says , ” When you pray”. Just like how prayer is not optional, likewise fasting cannot be optional. Jesus Himself fasted  Matt 4:2 . Moses fasted, Elijah fasted , Daniel fasted Dan 10:2-3.
What then is Fasting?
Fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. There are occasions in the Bible when people did fast without food or water for as long as forty days. In Esther 4:16 , She says ,” Go gather all the Jews and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days.” That’s 72 hours without fluid. Doctors advice that we don’t go beyond that without fluid.
Daniel practised what is called Partial Fast Dan 10:2-3.  For 21 days he abstained from: pleasant bread, meat, wine and anointing of himself. He did this for spiritual mourning.
In 1 Cor 7:5 Paul says : ” Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time , to give yourself to fasting and prayer.” Hence fasting involves more than just abstaining from food. It’s a period when you give God your undivided attention and affection .
Isaiah 58 is a great passage on FASTING. We must pay close attention to this passage.
Fasting is to:
Loose the bands of wickedness , to undo heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, to break yoke, to use your meal money to feed the hungry, and clothes the naked.
Here are somethings that will happen in your life when you fast verse 8-12
Your light shall break forth, your health shall spring forth speedily. Please read the other benefits. Oh hallelujah . Many of God’s children are no longer like a well watered garden because they no longer Fast and Pray.
Daniel and his three friends looked fairer and fatter in flesh than those who ate the King’s meat. Dan 1:12-15. Jesus says: ” Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt 4:4. This means that we must have period when we put away the physical bread and spend time eating the spiritual bread.
God bless you as we will continue on this very important subject of Prayer and Fasting.

St Matt. 9:21 “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Precious Saints our meditation comes from St Matt. 9:21 “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
The calling is for the return of Fasting and Prayer in the church.
Jer 6:16 “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and he shall find rest for your souls.”
All Jews fasted on the Day of Atonement Lev. 16: 29-31.
The early church fasted before sending out the Apostles Acts 13:2-3.
They fasted before they appointed leaders Acts 14:23.
John Wesley never ordained a man unless he would commit himself to fast every Wednesday and Friday until 4:00pm. No wonder the Methodist church spread rapidly.
Today I give seven purposes of Fasting :
1. To humble yourself Ps 35:13.
2. To come closer to God. James 4:8
3. To seek God’s will Ezra 8:21.
4. To seek healing Isaiah 58:8 , Matt 17:21.
5. When we need God’s intervention in a particular crisis 2 Chron 20, Joel 2.
6. To intercede for others Matt 17:21.
7. To give rest to the body. Isaiah 58:3-14. See Lev 26:33-35. When the Jews refused to rest the land , God scattered them so His land could get rest. Both the land and our bodies need rest. Fasting is great way to rest the body especially the digestive system.
We will continue on the study of fasting. Please let’s return to what made the church strong in the past. Jamaica is in serious crisis like Nineveh . Like that great city let’s get back to Fasting and prayer. Jonah 3:5-10.
God bless you richly.

Devotional Guide

Friday, December 13th - Evening

I will make thy windows of agates. - Isaiah 54:12

— Morning & Evening, with Charles Spurgeon Devotionals

The church is most instructively symbolized by a building erected by heavenly power, and designed by divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark, for the Israelites had light in their dwellings; there must therefore be windows to let the light in and to allow the inhabitants to gaze abroad. These windows are precious as agates: the ways in which the church beholds her Lord and heaven, and spiritual truth in general, are to be had in the highest esteem. Agates are not the most transparent of gems, they are but semi-pellucid at the best:

"Our knowledge of that life is small,
Our eye of faith is dim."
Faith is one of these precious agate windows, but alas! it is often so misty and beclouded, that we see but darkly, and mistake much that we do see. Yet if we cannot gaze through windows of diamonds and know even as we are known, it is a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even though the glass be hazy as the agate. Experience is another of these dim but precious windows, yielding to us a subdued religious light, in which we see the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows, through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not endure windows of transparent glass to let in the Master's glory, but when they are dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are tempered, and shine through the windows of agate with a soft radiance inexpressibly soothing to tempted souls. Sanctification, as it conforms us to our Lord, is another agate window. Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are like Jesus see Him as He is. Because we are so little like Him, the window is but agate; because we are somewhat like Him, it is agate. We thank God for what we have, and long for more. When shall we see God and Jesus, and heaven and truth, face to face?

Daily Reading

Sat., Dec. 14, 2024 — Colossians 1:1 - 4:18; Philemon 1:1-25 KJV

Colossians 1:1 - 4:18; Philemon 1:1-25 KJV reading for Sat., Dec. 14, 2024