Prayers leading to Christmas – 9

O Lord God, be with me all of my days. Let your presence be always around me. Cause your Holy Spirit, to ever dwell in me, and lead me to the things of Christ Jesus. In all times, let your truth be with me, as I meditate upon your Holy Word. Take away all my worldly pleasures and worldly sorrows that may distract me, from being vigilant for second coming of your Son Jesus. I ask this, in your Holy Name. Amen.

Prayers leading to Christmas – 8

O Lord God, help me to understand the signs of the return of your Son Jesus Christ. Those who recognised his first coming benefited greatly when they did believe. Let me too continue to believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ and not be discouraged by evil in this generation. Help me to discern well so that I don’t get enticed by false Messiah’s and false Christ’s before the coming of Christ Jesus. Let me be vigilant about my salvation each day so that I receive your Son Jesus in a worthy manner. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen

Don’t worry if you grow more than others in the Lord

Praise be to the Lord God who provides the seed of His word and the faith to work on it. By intercession of Christ Jesus our Saviour we keep ever growing in spirit and knowledge. O Holy Spirit lead us into all truth and keep us away from lethargy and false counsel.

We are called to grow in the Lord God. There are no exceptions to this. No need to worry if others don’t grow as much as you do.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

Be like Samuel the Prophet who didn’t ignore the Word of God but kept it in all earnest. Samuel’s duty was to grow in the knowledge that God gave him. He didn’t focus on those who didn’t but kept to his task. (Prophet Samuel later in life went on to annoint David as the king of Israel – refer to 1 Samuel 16:1-13 for this). He never gave up his spiritual growth though his mentor Eli’s sons grew in wickedness (Click here if you want to know a lesson about Eli). 

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.(1 Samuel 3:19-20)

You might not know the future but there may be people who one day will need your help. It might be your own family members who might need counsel on life changing decisions. You may have to cast out evil spirits from the possessed people who turn to you. Or you just have to be a good Samaritan to those in danger. But God knows best what good you are to do. What matters then is whether you decide to grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. Because that’s the very thing which will help you with doing all the good works that God has set forth before you. By this you can give glory to God and be a good neighbor to those in need.

Suppose you feel upset that others are not growing in the Lord God, then do not despair. You can intercede for them. And wherever possible even directly help them grow. But never be too proud of your growth and so end up displeasing God. Also take care not to slow down on your growth in Spirit. Because neither will it help others grow nor will it give glory to God.

Christ be with you!

No room for sin

​When someone sets his affections upon the cross and the love of Christ — he crucifies the world as a dead and undesirable thing. The baits of sin then lose their attraction. Fill your affections with the cross of Christ — and you will find no room for sin. (John Owen)

Take time to grow

To continue in Christ means to take time to grow. When you have been in Christ you should not stagnate spiritually. Jesus gives us the living waters. So we are to have life in us, in our thoughts, words and actions.

Sometimes if funny to hear Christians speak about their past experiences in Christ. Not that it’s bad to speak about the Lords works in your life. But it’s bad that you can only talk what he did in your life 15 years ago and are completely zonked when you are asked what God did in your life very much recently. This means you are not that engrossed in the Lord like about 10-15 years ago.

Growing up in Christ, is the key to keep continuing in Christ. Don’t get me wrong but if your love for God hasn’t increased from the last 5 years, something is wrong, not with Christ but with you. Do not use what the Lord has done for you by any means to remove the need for personal accountability with the Holy Spirit. The finished work of the cross doesn’t absolve you from personal responsibility.

It’s your responsibility to love God even more. By how much? That’s some that only you can decide but I can safely say, love God to the best of what you are and can do.

You can’t say you love God when aren’t bothered to read the Bible nor care about reaching out to sinners, when you don’t want to give hope to the sick and the afflicted. Don’t scam yourself saying in your heart that the Lord will forgive your sin whatever you do especially when the Lord is long suffering. Get it real mate, sinners do not make it to heaven. It’s the person who believes in Jesus who actually goes to heaven.

It’s your responsibility to believe in the Lord Jesus. Even the Lord Jesus can’t believe on your behalf. Believing is not just a mental affirmation, it’s a living trust in the Lord that manifest in all your actions. Have respect for him. You can’t be focused on eating when you are worshiping him, okay. If you are hungry then eat first and then pray rather than trying to be too religious appearing to pray first but distracted with thoughts about food. The kingdom of heaven is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

You can’t say you are righteous if you are not concerned with the righteousness of Christ that he gives you. Being focused only on sin avoidance but not on the holiness of God is a very imbalanced way of life. It’s like accepting Christ only to escape hell and not because the Lord is worthy of worship. Do not make your Christian life something like not being bothered about the Lord’s discipline.

You must be eager for the Lords discipline. It not something like a judgment kind of a thing. Why should the Lord judge you if you truly in him? Here it means that the Lord could be leading you to more meditation on the word rather just singing hymns. The Lord could be reminding you that you are to carry your cross daily instead of waiting idly. The Lord could be asking you for more of quality prayer time instead of wasting time on entertainment.

If you want to learn from the Bible don’t wait for a big change in your church that they start Bible study classes. If you want to go to college do you wait for the church to pass a law favoring going to college or do you just go directly to college? So why then if you want a Bible study do you wait for the Church to start Bible classes? There are so many books from which you can learn to read the Bible, which you can get from a leading book store.  Why don’t you just get them? In my own case, I learnt a lot without the need to go to Bible studies, so I do know it’s possible to do so.

You need to grow in Christ, you need to start now and for that you need the Lord. You should desire to grow not because you want to increase in ability but rather that you wish to honor God. Desire to grow because the Lord expects it from you!!