Blessed Good Friday to you who believe

 

1. Blessed are those who believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.

2. Blessed are those who believe that Jesus was sent to us by God to save us from our sins.

3. Blessed are those who believe that Jesus was crucified for us on the Cross for our atonement and redemption from sin, death and the grave.

4. Blessed are those who value the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for sinners on Calvary.

5. Blessed are those who repent of all sin when they hear the Word of God.

6. Blessed are those who don’t take part in vile pleasures nor love money and neither desire evil companionship because they prefer the friendship of Jesus who suffered for them on the Cross.

7. Blessed are those who carry their cross daily and look up to Jesus Christ to sustain them in the walk of faith daily.

 

 

 Isaiah 53:1-9 :-

53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.  

 

 

 Matthew 27: 11-54 :-

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” ¹² But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

 

Ten Tips To Build Your Faith In Christ Daily

1. Pray to the Jesus Christ at the start of the day asking for God’s favour and protection.

2. Pray at the end of the day thanking God and repenting of any wrong or faithless acts done.

3. Read the Bible regularly preferably done along with your prayers.

4. Sing songs of praise to the Lord God.

5. Carry your Cross each day.

6. Read testimonies of those whom God healed from sickness.

7. Intercede unto Jesus for others in need.

8. Be kind in your words with yourself and others.

9. Do good deeds each day.

10. Encourage others in the faith to give glory to God in the name of Jesus.

Rain your blessings

Rain your blessings on us O Lord,
Protect me from the darkness and sword.
Be my strength and my shield,
From infirmity let me be healed.

Rain your mercy on me O Jesus Christ,
For us you’ve yourself sacrificed.
Be my hope and my redeemer,
And save me from the deceiver.

Rain your mercy on me O Spirit of God,
Give me favour both at home and abroad.
Be my comforter and my guide,
And cause me in the Gospel to abide.

Quick reminder : Trust God’s timing for your life seasons

• For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)
• But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
• For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
• Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)
• For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. (Ecclesiastes 8:6)
• And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Quick reminder : Send up your prayers before sleep

• David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. (2 Samuel 12:16)
• When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches (Psalm 63:6)
• My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.(Psalm 119:148)
• O LORD, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law. (Psalm 119:55)
• At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances. (Psalm 119:62)
• But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25)

Love the Lord more each day

Love the Lord more each day,
Pay attention to what he does say.
Love the Lord more each day,
Walk with him on the way.

Love the Lord more each day,
And from sin always turn away.
Love the Lord more each day,
Never from the right path go astray.

Love the Lord more each day,
Thank him whether at work or play.
Love the Lord more each day,
Thank him for the morning’s ray.

Love the Lord more each day,
And your worries at his feet you lay.
Love the Lord more each day,
And this love in your actions display.

The World’s perspective of God and the Biblical perspective of God

The World’s perspective of God.

We are down here struggling, many people are suffering, there’s injustice everywhere, wars, diseases, earthquakes, floods, disasters all over the world, and where is god?

He’s in Heaven, enjoying himself, oblivious to all the problems we have down here. Why doesn’t he do something?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why doesn’t he take care of his creation?  Is he asleep? Doesn’t he care? And after we go though this miserable life, he sends many people to hell? What kind of god is that?

The natural man loves this perspective because it justifies him, and shows that god is clearly in the wrong.

The Biblical perspective of God.

We are down here living in rebellion to God, we don’t obey His Word, we ignore His warnings, we refuse to repent, we kill His prophets & crucified His Son, we provoke Him to anger, we reject His mercy, we mock those He sends to us, we ridicule His ways and we live our live in accordance with Satan, doing whatever we want, making up our own rules, and continually breaking God commandments.

This rebellion causes God great pain and suffering.  The suffering you see on Christ’s body, represents the suffering of the Father’s heart, because His creation hates Him and rebels against Him.  He patiently holds back His fierce judgment, not punishing people as they deserve, so that some men might repent and be saved, before it is too late. 

The natural man hates this perspective, because it clearly shows that he is in the wrong with no excuse. 

(By Robert Brownell)

Rejoice in the Lord (Video with lyrics)

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.

I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.

O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

(The above lyrics are by Ron Hamilton)

Pray big because God can work big wonders

Be available to Jesus the Lord

Be available to Jesus the Lord,
Unto him be of one true accord.
Don’t waiver to the left or right,
But love Christ with all your might.

Be available to the Spirit of God,
And don’t stay in the Babel of Nimrod.
Think of only what is holy, pure and just,
Refrain from all earthly, sensual and demonic lust.

Be available to God our creator,
Don’t worship false gods nor impersonators.
Know that the Lord God does exist,
Believe the Gospel and in his kingdom enlist.