FEED YOUR SPIRIT WITH SPIRITUAL NUTRITION
My friends,
as Christians we need to be strong both physically and mentally. The Christian
life is being threatened daily by those who are against the faith. We must be
consistently nurturing our spiritual life to properly defend it. Also, as
Christians, we are continuously growing. We need spiritual food in order for us
to stay healthy spiritually.
Jesus is our
perfect example:
Jesus
always made the time to pray to His Father. Throughout the Gospels, you will
notice that He would slip away to somewhere quiet for prayer. He also asked His
disciples to do the same.
In
Matthew 6:6 the bible says, "But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut
the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly."
We read in the bible that Jesus was tested by Satan after He
had finished praying and fasting for forty days and nights. But He overcame
Satan by the word of God.
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus answered, "
It is written:
'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth
of God.'
Jesus knew what was written in the bible. Therefore, we
need to read the word of God from the bible. I remember a woman of God was
preaching in the conference, she said, “Reading the word of God is like someone
depositing money into a bank, and when he/she needs it, will go to the bank and
withdraw it. You cannot withdraw the money if you have not first deposited it.
Therefore, we need the word of God stored or deposited in our hearts so that
when the devil comes we would be able to stand firm! We will have the "word" to say to him, "It is written..."
Spending
quiet time with God is important in developing a quality relationship with Him.
This is
the meaning of 'feeding on every word
that comes from the mouth of God'. Jesus was very familiar with the Scriptures
and so He was able to beat the Devil at his time. When we fill our spirits
with spiritual food we can fight off any temptations or negative spirits that may
come our way.
Earlier we saw Jesus was able to defend Himself against the Devil by quoting scripture, therefore, having a good knowledge of the bible is vital for Christians.
There are
many bible reading tools that can help you read the whole bible in a year.
This is good as trying to read the bible from beginning to the end although
this isn’t every once’ cup of tea.
Other tools could help you get familiar with
bible scriptures could be through:
Devotionals;
Reading religious books and magazines ; Listening to Gospel and other
inspirational music; Watching uplifting and family related films/movies; Going
to church regularly; Have more time with quality people who can help encourage
and guide you on the right path. Lastly, Use the internet carefully. There are
many social networking sites provided for Christians that are suitable for the
growing Christian.
I hope this short message will encourage you in some ways!
I love you all and remain blessed!
THE WEAK AND THE STRONG (Romans14:1-23)
One
man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers
every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He
who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat,
eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does
so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You,
then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your
brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
'As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bow before me;every tongue will confess to God.’
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore
let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind
not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If
your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer
acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom
Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean,
but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to
stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
So
whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.
Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But
the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is
not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Remain blessed!
JESUS SAID TO HIM,"...HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER....."(John 14:9)
| Imagine the following scenario: A father tells his little girl, “Come here, girl. Mummy says that you have been playing by the roadside. Is that true?” “Yes, Daddy. I am sorry.” “Sorry? How many times have I told you not to play near the road? Come here! Lie down on the road and stretch out your legs!” |
| Daddy drives his car over his little girl’s legs. You can hear the sound of bones being crushed and the poor girl screaming in pain! |
| “Now, darling, you know that Daddy loves you. And Daddy did that to teach you a lesson, that playing by the roadside is dangerous.” |
| You are probably shaking your head in horror by now, wondering which sick father would do that. Yet, there are many Christians who believe that our heavenly Father does the same thing. They say that He gives people sicknesses, accidents, earthquakes and death to teach them lessons. |
| But Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the nature of God in action. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus or God going about healing the sick. If God wants some people sick, then there should be at least one incident in the Gospels where you see Jesus saying, “Behold, your complexion is too lovely, receive leprosy,” or “Blindness is good for you. Remain blind.” But no, never once! In fact, Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) That’s the heart of God. |
| As a father, if your child is sick and in pain, your heart just wants him well. How much more your heavenly Father! My friend, God does not give your child a sickness to teach both of you some lesson or to glorify Himself. To think so is to talk out of a warped mind bound by religion! And Christianity is not a religion. It is a loving relationship with your Father in heaven. |
| Beloved,
hear God speaking this to your heart today: “I will never punish you
for your sins because they have been punished in My Son’s body. I do not
wish you ill. I will not take away your child or give you a car wreck
to teach you some lesson. My heart always wants My children well and
joyful!” Joseph Prince |
LET GOD BE GOD!
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him...”(Psalm 37:7)
Are
you struggling with trying to make a dream come to pass? Are you
frustrated in a relationship, trying to make someone else change or live
right? You may mean well, you may have good goals, but if you are
trying to orchestrate things to happen your way, on your timetable, you
are only going to frustrate yourself. At some point, you have to turn
those circumstances over to God and trust that He has your best interest
at heart.
How
do you turn things over to God? Start by making the choice and
declaring your resolve. Simply say, “Father, I choose to let You be God
of this situation. I take my hands off. I trust You.” Then, choose to
worship Him. Worship is one of the best ways to set your heart and mind
in the right place. You can’t worry and worship at the same time!
Worship is a sign that you are trusting God; worry is a sign that you
are trying to control things.
Today,
take the pressure off yourself and turn things over to God. Give Him
control and let Him take your setbacks and turn them into comebacks.
Remember, the God who holds the universe holds you in the palm of His
hand. Trust Him and let God be God in every area of your life!
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE!
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)
So
many people live life worried about what everyone else thinks and
wondering how they can impress other people. But we have to realize that
when we come to the end of life, we’re not going to stand before people
to give an account of our lives, we are going to stand before Almighty
God. He is not going to say, “Why didn’t you do what so-and-so said to
do? Why didn’t you fit into their mold? Why didn’t you take their
opinion?” No, He is going to ask, “Did you become who I created you to
be? Did you stay true to what I put in your heart?” This
is where Saul missed it. Saul had a big destiny. God had great
things in his future, but Saul was so insecure that he let people
squeeze him into their mold. He was afraid he was going to disappoint
somebody. He said in First Samuel 15:24, “I disobeyed the Lord’s
instructions because I was afraid of the people, so I did what they
asked.” Notice Saul knew what to do. He even admitted it, “I disobeyed
God’s instructions.” Why? He was a people pleaser. He forfeited his
destiny in order to please people. Friend, don’t let that be you! Don’t
be a people pleaser, be a God pleaser because pleasing God is all that
matters when all is said and done.
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