Respond to God’s calling!

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hears.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one that hears it will tingle. (1 Samuel 3:7-11)

The great man of God, the prophet Samuel had his calling from God. O how many times God called him? O what if Samuel would have not taken help of Eli to understand God’s calling? O if Samuel would have never responded to God’s calling? Then God’s will for Israel by the prophet Samuel would have been affected. What a shame to lose God’s calling.

Be humble to enough to ask help of those serving the Lord God, to understand God’s will for you. Never feel to small to still yourself and keep away from the chaos of the world, to hear God’s voice. And when you finally come to know God’s for yourself, do not even hesitate to do it, fair and square. All for the glory of God!

Only God can truly fill the heart of man

Bible verses about waiting patiently for the Lord

Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced. (Psalm 25:3)

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:13-14)

Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. (Psalm 37:34)

I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. (Psalm 62:5)

I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5)

Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will deliver you. (Proverbs 20:22)

And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end, and will not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Parable by Jesus)

Jesus gave us the parable of Wise and Foolish Builders in Matthew 7:24-27 in which he said the following:

“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell;and great was the fall of it.”

 

Jesus in the above parable wants us to understand the importance of both hearing his words and also acting on them. There are people who only hear the words of Jesus but do not act on it. Then we have people who both hear and act on the Word of God. Now, both of these types of people will keep building their life and achievements.

And they will face challenges and tough times as well. Only those who have acted on the words of the Lord Jesus will prevail and those who do not act, will suffer great losses. The most dangerous of such losses is when a person loses his or her soul to the Evil One at the time of death because of not abiding by the Word of God in their thoughts, words and actions.

 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

 

Wise and foolish builder; Icon fresco from Hilandari Monastery, Mount Athos

Flee youthful lusts

 

²⁰ In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. ²¹ If any one purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work. ²² So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing, ²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, ²⁶ and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:20-26)

 

Flee youthful lusts

The biggest obstacle for those who are after the Lord Jesus is about how they face temptations.  Some people know how to resist temptation really well, while others end up falling into temptation. I’d say to anyone facing such a problem in their walk with Jesus Christ, is that they flee such temptations especially those one’s which are called youthful lusts.

 

So what are these youthful lusts and should be one’s reponse?

Usually, these are those lusts that happen during one’s youth most of the time. Not every youth faces them all and it can be just one of two temptations which they enticed into and However, it sometimes happens to people even later in life. Nevertheless, these are called youthful lusts. Some of these include:

• Arrogance
• Alcoholism
• Bad companionship
• Gambling
• Drug abuse
• Lying
• Sexual immorality
• Stealing
• Rebellion against parents
• Rebellion against authorities
• Pride excessively in oneself

Please make sure you repent of the above sins in the name of Jesus Christ and also repent of all other sins too. This way you will be pure in the Kingdom of God.

 

Let me also break it down what the next part in Timothy 2:22 means ( aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart. ). Here we go:-

 

Aim at righteousness

Don’t be walking aimlessly in life. Especially when walking with Jesus Christ, this is a full-time thing that you aim for righteousness in your thoughts, words, and actions.

 

Faith

You can’t go on not believing in God’s existence and call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ. Such an attitude at best is hypocritical and must be eliminated from your life.  The only way to please God is by having faith in Him. And yes, you can manifest this faith in your thoughts, words and actions as per the commandments of God.

 

Love

Let me just speak what the Bible says:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

 

Peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.

Do everything that is only God to all who believe in the Lord Jesus. For this, you need to at peace with those at church, especially those from your friends and family too. Having respect for others who follow the Lord Jesus is important in your walk with Jesus.

 

Finally with regards to fleeing youthful lusts, always repent and never be a disgrace to your Christian community just because they’re forgiving and understanding. Take help from those strong in the faith. Never be ashamed to ask help from Jesus in prayer when faced with tempations. Remember that there is no repentance in the grave and charity begins at home.

Christ be with you!

 

 

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)