"May God's Blessing Surround You Each Day ... "

If we are to know the blessing of God in our lives, there must be a willingness to go the Lord’s way. This is emphasized in the words of the benediction chorus: “May God’s blessing surround you each day, as you trust Him and walk in His way.” We enjoy the blessing of the Lord as we trust Him and walk in His way. “May His presence within, guard and keep you from sin. Go in peace. Go in joy. Go in love.” The way of peace, joy and love is the way of being guarded and kept from sin. Let us never imagine that we will ever discover peace, joy and love whenever we are intent on going our own way, the way of sin, rather than the Lord’s way, the way of discipleship.

"Christ Leads Us ... "

Christ leads us in His victory - "At the Name of Jesus, Satan's legions flee... "

"In The Hard Times ... "

In the hard times - keep on believing that the times of blessing will return.

A New Journey Through The Scriptures

At my Let's Share the Good News and The Theology of G. C. Berkouwer blogs, you can still find the Reading for each day (in its own box at the top of the page). The "New Journey Through The Scriptures", beginning with Genesis 1, starts tomorrow (22nd January 2009). If you follow these readings each day, they will take you through the whole Bible in three years.
I hope you will visit the "Daily Devotional Readings" and receive a blessing from the Lord.
-----
"When you read God's Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, 'It is talking to me, and about me.'" (Soren Kierkegaard).
Let's commit ourselves afresh to reading the Word of God day-by-day.
Here are some links which you may find helpful.

Look up Scripture passage

Read a specific comment online

Print a booklet containing monthly readings

"Jesus Christ Has Brought Us ... "

Jesus Christ has brought us a great salvation. This is Good News of great joy - for all the people, for all generations.

"Christ's Return Will Be ... "

Christ's Return will be a Day of salvation and a Day of judgment. Trust in Him. He will be your Saviour.

"In The Valley ... "

In the valley, the mountaintop seems far away. Look to Jesus and your valley will be the valley of vision.

The Spirit And The Bride

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com

"Jesus Is Our Saviour ... "

Jesus is our Saviour. Jesus is our Lord. Saved by grace through faith, let us live a life of good works.

--------------------

Isaiah 26:10-27:13

Jesus is our Saviour - 'Lord, You establish peace for us'; 'We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ'. We cannot save ourselves. We can only look away from ourselves to Jesus - and be saved by Him: 'all that we have accomplished You have done for us'; 'By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God' (26:12; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8). Jesus is our Lord - 'Lord, our God...You alone are our Lord'. How are we to live once we have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? - 'Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him'. We are not to 'keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness'. We are to live a life of 'good works' (26:13; Colossians 2:6; Romans 6:1; Ephesians 2:10).

Are You A Disciple Of The Lord Jesus Christ?

The word, "disciple", is very similar to the word, "discipline." This is no accident. The life of discipleship is a life of discipline. This is the point which Jesus made, when He said, "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
This is the lesson which Paul had learned when he said, "For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16). When Paul said, "Necessity is laid upon me", he was not speaking of a shallow or superficial emotion. The Holy Spirit works within us so that we might learn the discipline of discipleship. The discipline of discipleship - this is the challenge which Paul's life sets before us. Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Our True Freedom In Christ (8)

We grow as disciples as we build our lives on the truth of God. Jesus emphasizes this point very strongly in John 15:7 - “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” If we are to grow in prayer, we must build our faith and our lives upon God’s Word - “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). If we are to grow in love, we must build a living faith on the teaching of God’s Word -”These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). If we are to grow in joy, we muse feed upon the Word of the Lord, letting His teaching form the rock-solid foundation for our lives. When we build on the truth of God, going on with the Lord day-by-day, we will be true disciples. In the presence of the Lord, each of us must answer honestly the searching question: What kind of disciple am I? - A disciple in name only? Or a real disciple, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, living in the power of the Spirit of the Lord? God waits for your answer.

Our True Freedom In Christ (7)

We can only live as disciples when we when the Lord Himself is our strength. Without His power, we are nothing. We cannot even begin to live as His disciples. George Matheson expresses this so well: “My heart is weak and poor until it master find. My power is faint and low till I have learned to serve; My will is not my own till Thou hast made it Thine.” We draw our strength from Christ. Jesus said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Our True Freedom In Christ (6)

What does it mean to say, “The life of discipleship is a life of freedom”? The hymnwriter. George Matheson, shows a deep understanding of true freedom in Christ, when he writes, “Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.” He describes true freedom in terms of being the Lord’s captive. In Christ, we are no longer “slaves of sin”: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18). George Matheson’s hymn contains these fine words: “Imprison me within Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.” We do not find true strength by asserting our own will over against God’s will. we are truly strong when we are committed to the Lord, obedient to His will. By ourselves, we are weak. In Christ, we are strong.

Our True Freedom In Christ (5)

In John 8, there are three very important verses, which teach us a great deal about the life of discipleship. These verses are John 8:36 - “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed”; John 8:32 - “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”; John 8:31 - “If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples.” There are three lessons here - (i) The life of discipleship is a life of freedom; (ii) The life of discipleship begins when you are set free by the Lord Jesus Christ; (iii) We grow in the life of discipleship as we learn to live in the light of God’s Word.

Our True Freedom In Christ (4)

It may be helpful to compare our true freedom in Christ to the freedom gained by a prisoner of war who escapes from his captors. While he is in the concentration camp, the prisoner of war cannot fight for his country. He cannot fight for the cause. When he gains his freedom, he is not free to do whatever he pleases. He is free to take part in the war. he is free to fight for the cause. Christian freedom is a bit like that. Before we come, in faith, to Jesus Christ, we are held captive by the enemy. We are unable to fight against the enemy. He has us in His evil control. When Christ sets us free, He empowers us to wage war against the enemy, to stand up for Jesus, to fight for Christ as soldiers of the Cross. We are set free so that we might live as true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our True Freedom In Christ (3)

Freedom has nothing at all to do with choosing to live in ways which are not pleasing to the Lord. True freedom in Christ has everything to do with being filled with the Spirit of the Lord. The way of freedom is the way of the Spirit. The nearest the New Testament comes to defining freedom is in 2 Corinthians 3:17 - “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Freedom has nothing at all to do with being free to do as we please. Freedom has everything to do with living for the Lord.

Our True Freedom In Christ (2)

Sometimes, people think of freedom in terms of being as free as a bird - free to do as we like, free to do whatever we please, whenever we please. This idea of freedom - freedom without responsibility - is far removed from the true meaning of freedom in Christ. We have not been set free to do whatever we like. We have been set free for God, to do God’s will. Christ has set us free so that we might live for Him and not for ourselves. we have been set free so that we might live as disciples, men and women who are living in the power of the Spirit of the Lord. Sometimes, people think of freedom like this - we are free to choose good and we are free to choose evil. This is not the way in which the Scriptures speak of our true freedom in Christ. Jesus tells us that choosing evil is not an act of freedom. It is an act of bondage. Whenever we choose the wrong way rather than the right way, we do not act in freedom. we are not free. We are in bondage. We need to be set free. We need Christ, the only One who can set us free to be what God wants us to be.

Our True Freedom In Christ (1)

When Jesus began His teaching ministry, He quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has sent Me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives … to set at liberty those who are oppressed … ” (Luke 4:18). The Gospel, which Jesus proclaimed, is a Gospel which brings freedom. The Gospel brings freedom when it comes to its hearers in the power of the Spirit of the Lord. What is freedom? What is this freedom which the Gospel brings? To understand what it means to be set free by the power of God’s Spirit, set free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must first understand what freedom in Christ is not.

Remembering Our Saviour

Our understanding of God's Word is to be filled with worship. Our reading of Scripture will be enriched as we think also of the songs of praise we offer to God as we worship Him. We remember our Saviour. He died for us and was raised again for us. We remember Him as we read the Scriptures which tell the wonderful story of His great love for us. We remember Him as we sing our songs of praise to Him. As we remember our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, let us rejoice in His great salvation and His mighty triumph over Satan.

Grace, Mercy & Peace

2Jo 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

2 John - Chapter 1
inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com

What's Will The Year Bring

Standing Upon Christ ...

2008 is simply past history and 2009 is upon us. Our world is struggling in so many areas, in so many situations and the circumstances, well, they just seem to be intensifying.

Much like watching a hurricane building and creating strong winds. However, there is a eye in the midst of such storms where the air currents are calm.

May the Prince of Peace be the eye of the storms that arise in your life. May Christ be the Rock that you stand upon and may the Spirit be the wind in your sails.

Happy New Year!
inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com