Devotional

@pb1022
I wonder how many people in your neighbourhood could have been pulled from the clutches of eternal torture in the time it took you to write all your posts in this thread.

@divegeester said
@pb1022
I wonder how many people in your neighbourhood could have been pulled from the clutches of eternal torture in the time it took you to write all your posts in this thread.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Genesis 14:18–20

- JANUARY 26 -

JESUS COMES TO YOU IN YOUR VALLEY

I don’t know what valley you are in right now, but I want to share a powerful picture in the Bible that I pray will encourage you.

Every time something is mentioned in the Bible for the first time, it is always significant. Do you know where you find the bread and the wine of the Communion mentioned together for the first time? It’s there in today’s scriptures.

Who is Melchizedek? The Bible tells us that our Lord Jesus is “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 7:17). Many scholars believe he is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. But it is clear that Melchizedek is a type of Christ.

Melchizedek was the king of Salem, which means “peace.” But Salem means much more than peace. It also means “complete, safe, perfect, whole, and full.”

Melchizedek met Abram in the Valley of Shaveh, or the King’s Valley (Gen. 14:17). The King’s Valley is actually in the Kidron Valley. Kidron in Hebrew is from the word qadar, which means “darkness.”

Melchizedek wasn’t the only person present with Abram. Bera, the king of Sodom, went out to meet Abram before Melchizedek arrived (Gen. 14:2, 17). Bera’s name in Hebrew means “son of evil.”

I gave you all that background because I want you to see this: when you are in a place of darkness, your Lord Jesus comes to you, bearing bread and wine.

You might be asking, “Won’t the Communion become something legalistic that I have to do?” Not if you see yourself receiving the bread and the wine from the Lord Jesus Himself. The Communion is not something that you do; you receive the Communion just as Abram did.

In your time of darkness, don’t forget that the Lord has given you the Communion as a tangible, practical way of remembering all He has done for you and encountering His love. You don’t have to handle the situation all by yourself. The Lord is with you, and He wants you to bring Him every fear and every worry. Talk to Him.

Whenever I am afraid I like to sing the words from the psalms of David to strengthen myself in the Lord. May you be filled with His strength as you meditate on and worship Him with these words from the psalmist:

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance . . . Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

—Psalm 32:7; 56:3

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Excellent devotional.

This is the true Gospel - the Gospel of Grace.

Enjoy!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!”
Psalm 34:8 NLT

- JANUARY 31 -

EXPERIENCE PERFECT, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Beloved, just because you don’t know the Bible from cover to cover, don’t be intimidated by learned theologians who use very high-sounding theological words to try to dismiss the gospel of glorious grace.

The gospel is so simple that even fishermen such as Peter could grasp it, and yet it could also confound intellectual scholars such as Nicodemus (John 3:1–10). The learned Nicodemuses of today might hear the gospel of grace preached and leave wondering, “How can these things be?”

In contrast, the woman at the well in John 4, who encountered Jesus and His grace, couldn’t help but proclaim, “Come, see a Man!” and point people to the Savior! Today the grace revolution is led by precious people just like the woman at the well.

We have received so many testimonies of how imperfect people have risen up to become evangelists of the gospel of grace. They may not be as qualified as the Nicodemuses of this world, but what they do have is a life transformed and restored after an authentic encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Edwina is another case in point. Although she was born again when she was sixteen, every church she attended taught her she had to keep God’s laws to please Him. Believing that God was just waiting for her next wrongdoing in order to condemn her, she became rebellious, started having premarital sex, had an abortion, and ended up attempting suicide more than once. She shared:

I got married and had kids at a young age. When I got older, I tried my best to keep my life in order. I attended church, stayed true to my husband, and worked hard. But my husband was a womanizer, heavy smoker, gambler, drug addict, and an alcoholic. To keep him away from drugs, I sent him to work in Singapore.

When I eventually joined him there, he was in huge debt, still an alcoholic, and had a few girlfriends. I felt that he only wanted me to help pay his debt and it was not worthwhile to remain faithful. I started an online chat relationship that led to an affair. I felt wanted again but it just didn’t feel right.

Devastated, I cried out to God. Then, I remembered that my pastor in the Philippines had mentioned New Creation Church. So I attended a service with my husband and I cried throughout the sermon.

Pastor Prince shared how Jesus loved the woman caught in adultery unconditionally, giving her the gift of no condemnation to empower her to stop sinning. It was the first time I heard about a God who doesn’t condemn me.

I kept returning to New Creation Church, with or without my husband. I also listened to Pastor Prince’s sermons on my way to and from work. Not only did my affair come to an end, but Jesus also turned the water into wine in my marriage.

I now love my husband even more than before, and my husband also loves me. He has quit smoking, gambling, and drinking. We believe his debt cancellation is also on the way, in Jesus’ name!

I’m now so in love with Jesus and feel comfortable in His presence, whether I’ve done good or not. And I’m seeing more right living in my life now. I’m more honest and loving. I don’t boast in myself, but I boast in what the Lord has done in me.

Thank you, Pastor Prince, for being faithful in preaching the truth. And thank You, Lord Jesus, for loving me.

Beloved, as He did with the woman at the well and with Edwina, the Lord knows everything about you—every failure, every sin, and every shortcoming. Yet He still loves you with an everlasting love, a love that is completely unconditional, a love that nailed Him to the cross.

The truth is that you are, right now, the righteousness of God through Jesus’ precious blood. You can have a true and intimate relationship with THE LORD YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The enemy may have stolen the intimacy and closeness between you and the Lord, but I want you to know that God is restoring relationships today. The grace revolution is a revolution of restoration—and the grace revolution is here.

As our heavenly Father has promised, He is setting up shepherds all around the world who are preaching THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. And His precious people shall no longer be fearful, no longer be discouraged, and no longer be lacking.

Right now I pray that as you receive the good news of the gospel of grace, you are being set free from every bondage that is weighing you down. In the name of our Lord Jesus, I see you healed from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. I see you freed from that secret addiction that has held you captive for years. I see you whole in all your relationships. Amen!

This devotional is adapted from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

@pb1022 said
Excellent devotional.

This is the true Gospel - the Gospel of Grace.

Enjoy!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!”
Psalm 34:8 NLT

- JANUARY 31 -

EXPERIENCE PERFECT, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Beloved, just because you don’t know the Bible from cover to cover, don’t be intimidated by learned theologians who use very high ...[text shortened]...

This devotional is adapted from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

@rajk999 said
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lo ...[text shortened]... day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.(2 Timothy 3:1-4:8 KJV)

@pb1022 said
It’s interesting that you always attack the Gospel of Grace despite its power to transform lives and make people live righteously.

Your false gospel leaves people feeling condemned and alienated from God.

@rajk999 said
Its boring that you continue to fail to understand what Grace is all about. I have not attacked any Gospel. I am attacking your continued promotion of false doctrines that lead to damnation. First there is no such Gospel in the bible called the Gospel of Grace. That is yet another of the fabricated doctrines of the church designed to make people continue a life of sin and ev ...[text shortened]... will be destroyed. Your devotional is fooling people who are stupid enough to believe your nonsense.

@pb1022 said
The Gospel of Grace *is* the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant.

You live under the law and under the old covenant.

I don’t.

GOD LOVES YOU PERFECTLY

31 January 2022

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

(Romans 5:8-9)

God is a God of forgiveness. He knows you perfectly and still loves you perfectly. We are slaves to the idea that if someone sees our flaws, they won't love us anymore. Well, while that may be true in human relationships, God is not like that.

God sees all our imperfections, failings, and flaws on Jesus at the cross. Our sins and ugliness do not turn Him off. In fact, to Him they are occasions to demonstrate His grace and forgiveness through the blood of His Son, who has removed all our sins efficaciously at Calvary.

So don't be embarrassed about your flaws, mistakes, and imperfections. God knows your weaknesses better than you do, and He loves you just the same. His Word reminds us that Jesus is not someone "who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Instead, Jesus was tempted in all points, yet He was without sin (Heb. 4:15). He understands every temptation and every trial that you are going through. He is not disappointed with you, and He is not waiting for you to live up to a set of dos and don'ts before He forgives and loves you. The Bible says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom. 5:8–9).

Did you get that? When did God love you?

That's right, when you were still a sinner. Before you even knew Him, when you were still in sin, He already loved you. How much more today, when you have been cleansed by Jesus' blood and made righteous! Having received Jesus' righteousness, you are righteous forever. Even when you fall into sin, your sins don't make you a sinner again.

When you fall short today, you are still the righteousness of God. This is because your righteousness comes from Jesus. In the same way that a beautiful butterfly cannot morph back into a caterpillar, once you have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus, you cannot morph back into a sinner. Knowing your righteous identity in Him then gives you the power to overcome every sin, every addiction, and every bad habit!

This devotional is from 100 Days of Right Believing.

OVERCOMING FEAR

01 February 2022

“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”

(2 Chronicles 20:3-4)

Have you been in a situation where your circumstances appear to be completely hopeless? Where you felt immobilized and overwhelmed by the challenges surrounding you, with no way out or even a temporary respite in sight? Perhaps under the accumulated weight of it all coming against you at once, you feel as if your entire life is spiraling out of control and falling apart.

That is exactly what happened to King Jehoshaphat and the small tribe of Judah when they were besieged on all fronts by three powerful and bloodthirsty armies rapidly advancing toward Jerusalem (see 2 Chron. 20). With their enemies mercilessly bent on annihilating them and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they were facing a forlorn and hopeless situation, and it looked as though they were bound for a tragic end.

When Jehoshaphat was informed that a great multitude was coming against him, his first reaction was fear! I don't know about you, but this gives me hope! I'm so glad that the Word of God gives us an authentic portrait of who Jehoshaphat was. He wasn't a valiant warrior king who was always full of faith and endowed with a disproportionate dose of fiery courage, always ready to take down his enemies. No, he was a regular guy. He did what you and I would have done—he panicked.

But what set Jehoshaphat apart was that even when he was fearful, the very first thing he did was to "set himself to seek the Lord" (2 Chron. 20:3). That is something you and I need to learn to do as well whenever we are fearful. Instead of spiraling deeper into the abyss of self-defeat, know that when you are feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances, that is the time you need to set yourself to seek the Lord. It's certainly not the time to run away from God or get bitter, angry, frustrated, and disappointed with Him. Hey, God is not the author of your troubles. He is the author and finisher of your faith, victory, and success.

Jehoshaphat shows us that it's quite all right to experience bouts of fear from time to time. God doesn't condemn you when you are afraid. But when you receive a negative medical report or some bad news about your family or business, set yourself to seek the Lord. Jesus is your answer! His perfect love for you will cast out all fear.

This devotional is from 100 Days of Right Believing

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.
Acts 14:8–10

- FEBRUARY 3 -

SLAY YOUR DRAGONS

Beloved, if you want to have faith for your breakthrough, make sure you are hearing and believing right about God through the word of Christ. By the way, in Romans 10:17, it is the word of Christ, not the word of God, as written in some Bible translations.

The Greek word used here is Christos for Christ. What’s the difference? The word of Christ refers to the word of the new covenant, the word of His grace.

In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

What is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among the saints? It is the word of His grace or the word of Christ. The Bible exhorts us to “let the word of Christ [Christos] dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16).

So if you’re feeling discouraged, I encourage you to keep hearing messages full of the grace and finished work of our Lord Jesus as was proclaimed by the apostle Paul. This was what the crippled man in today’s scripture did.

Whatever your circumstances, keep hearing about how your sins have all been forgiven through Christ and how you are today the righteousness of God in Christ. Whatever the prognosis you’ve heard, keep hearing about how much God loves you and wants to be a loving Father to you, to watch over you, provide for you, and deliver you from all your fears and afflictions.

My friend, when you give priority to this daily, you will have the word of Christ dwelling richly in you. And it is this word of His grace that will impart faith and hope to you.

When you know God’s love for you, it will cause you to run to Him instead of hiding from Him. His love upon you and in you will make you strong. It will cause you to overcome every temptation and fear, slay your giants, and live life with greater boldness and victory!

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

- FEBRUARY 5 -

MORE WITH YOU THAN AGAINST YOU

When you or a loved one faces a frightening medical condition, questions for which you have no answers can often overwhelm your mind.

What are we going to do? How long do I have? Who will look after my kids? How am I going to afford the treatment? Will I ever be the same? Why me?

What can you do when your thoughts are completely out of control and you can only imagine the worst is coming?

The Bible records the following account in 2 Kings 6 for our encouragement. Israel’s enemies were so desperate to capture the prophet Elisha that they sent a great army with horses and chariots by night and surrounded the city where he was staying. When Elisha’s servant woke up and saw this army, he despaired and cried out in fear, “What shall we do?”

May I invite you to read for yourself what happened next?

“So he [Elisha] answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

—2 Kings 6:16–17
It may feel like a formidable army of symptoms, negative reports, and maybe even financial debt has surrounded you. But, beloved, do not fear, for those who are with you are so much more than those who are with them.

Right now, I pray that the Lord will open your eyes so you might see the legions of angels stationed around you. Take your eyes off your enemies. The ability of your enemies to hurt you is nothing compared to the greatness of your God and His power to save you.

Take your eyes off the enemy so you may see the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward you. The same mighty power that raised our Lord Jesus from the grave, the same power that seated Him at God’s right hand in the heavenly places—far above all principalities, power, might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come (Eph. 1:19–21)—is working for you and for your loved one!

Is human papillomavirus a name? Is bacterial meningitis a name? Is Parkinson’s disease a name? Then it has to yield to Jesus, who is seated at the Father’s right hand, far above the diseases. And because you are in Christ today, as He is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17)!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

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Blah de blah,
Blah.

Here endeth the devotional.

Hey romans1009 looks like your the “king of the red thumbs” in your own thread buddy.

Good work 👍🏼