The Word of God is Life

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.

The Word of God is life.

The Word of Life changes the lives of many people.

Many found the Lord Jesus Christ by reading the Word of Life.

Depression lifted; recovery and healing begin to transform lives.

Christian people begin to meet in small group and share; more healing and mercy.

Oppositions and persecutions await God's people.

Some are imprisoned and tortured because of their faith.

Some are told to stop their faith and sign an agreement that they will not read the Bible.

But, because of the Holy Spirit’s assurance in them, they are ready to face anything…

Christ is my life.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).

They are always thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What an honor for them to share His affiliation.

Their souls rest in God's perfect peace.

They begin to spread the Word of God; it is the Word of Life.

More and more people come to faith in Christ!

They undergo more severe torture, for months, and years...

There is no part of their body without pain...

Why are they paying so big a price?

Why don’t they just renounce their faith and live a peaceful life?

“To me, the Word of God is life!”

Let us honor and prize God’s Word and build our lives upon its everlasting promises.

And, let us pray for those in prisons around the world who pay a huge price for loving God’s Word.

“To me, the Word of God is life!”

Mystery of God's Will

Ephesians 1:9

He made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure,
which he purposed in Christ…

We want to know the mystery of God’s will for our life.

Job asked about the “why” of suffering. In the end God invited him to see a bigger picture than his suffering.

If we lift our eyes wider and let our gaze roam over the whole universe, we will see that creation is filled with God’s beauty and grace.

Let us learn to value the mystery of God’s will. It enables us to feel God’s love fully revealed in Christ.

The victorious and triumphant Christian life is not of suffering and death and feelings of abandonment.

It is not the cry of "why?" and "where are you?" to God when circumstances are crushing us.

God is always greater than our understanding of Him.

There will always be mystery about Him that causes us to fall down in awe and worship.

This mystery keeps causing struggles in our life.

We are to learn to live in faith with the mystery of God’s will.

We are not called to solve the mystery, but to enter it.

Let us learn to value the mystery of God's will because it enables us to feel God’s love.

Thank You Lord that
though the world around us is full of mystery,
it is also full of Your beauty and grace.
Help me to trust in You and
value the mystery of Your Will for my life.

Spirit's Voice

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes,
he will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on his own;
he will speak only what he hears,
and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Let us listen to the Spirit’s voice before making decisions and plans.

Oh Lord,
help me to listen to Your Spirit’s direction in my life
since He will direct my steps.

The Precious Pearl

Matthew 13:45-46

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value,
he went away and sold everything he had
and bought it.”

Let us appreciate the Bible we have and commit ourselves to learning and living from it.

Let us pray for Christians everywhere who are still waiting for their first copy of God’s Word.

Task Prayer

James 5:17

Elijah was a man just like us.
He prayed earnestly that it would not rain,
and it did not rain on the land
for three and a half years.

There is fellowship prayer. There is task prayer. Both are important forms of prayer.

Task prayer is terrific labor and takes much energy.

It is closest to intercessory prayer.

It is a very focused prayer about an intense need.

Here are some characteristics of task prayer:

• It has a clear goal; it is very focused.
• It uses simple words.
• It mobilizes all the emotion in our heart.
• It is persistent (Luke 18:1-8).
  

When we have an intense need, we will usually practice task prayer.

Oh God, help me to have
the faith, persistence and emotion
of Elijah when I pray.

Effective Prayer

Joshua 1:1–9

God made some extravagant promises to Joshua. He knew that Joshua would face fierce enemies and overwhelming obstacles and therefore would need to remember these assurances in tough times.

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We too need to be able to hang on to God’s promises.

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Praying Scripture back to God is a valuable tool to assist us in our spiritual growth — “reminding” Him of His promises, as it’s sometimes called.

Repeating the assurances of God’s Word in prayer elevates and guides our requests.

By praying God’s words back to Him, we have assurance that we are praying effectively.

Let us remind God of His promises!