This Week With Jesus

Psalm 23 is quite strange. After all, after having walked through the "valley of the shadow of death" God prepares a feast for David in the presence of his enemies! Can we/ you ever feast or banquet during adverse times? The KJV devotional has this to say - "David faced so many challenges but remained confident in the power and provision of God. He knew how God could prepare a feast; not just in a secure place but even in the presence of enemies. This illustration shows us the richness of God’s care for His people and the confidence we can have in Him. We see here that God prepares the table and does not bother to remove the presence of enemies (or adversity). This means that there are times when God allows hardships to linger, but He still provides care, sustenance, provision, and strength while we are going through these adversities. We cannot always expect God to get rid of all of our obstacles for us, but we can be confident that even when surrounded by threats or ha

Life can sometimes make you feel hopeless: death, disease, misfortune dog our footsteps. No matter what happens in our life, there is hope. God is there. When we come to God in prayer, we do not come with our own righteousness but with a humble heart, seeking His great mercies. Sometimes, in the midst of our struggles, it may feel like God is not listening or paying attention to our cries, but, if we do as Hannah did, pouring out our soul for the Lord, God will hear our prayers. We come before you in awe Lord, acknowledging your greatness and magnificence. We humbly approach you with our prayers, knowing that you are the one who hears and answers. As we navigate through the challenges of this world, as well as our own personal challenges, we ask for your guidance and wisdom. In times of uncertainty may we find solace in knowing you are with us and your purpose for our lives will prevail. Almighty father, we praise you and thank you for your deliverance and protection of some of the peo

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -  Matthew 19:2 6 God works. And He does not do things with a wave of a magic wand, but through people like you and me. We all can be used for good, in some way, big or small. Let me relate a short story of a simple act of kindness and love, which I happened to have witnessed. "Every place in the world has two common things: street food and the hunger. One day, a person, call him X (since I do not know his name), saw some enticing street food being cooked. It was a rainy day and the smell of the food, hot on the stove, was more than he could resist. He walked over to get some packed for himself. As he was waiting with the rest of the customers, he noticed a small girl, maybe 6 or 8 years old, dirty, filthy and obviously hungry. She went from person to person begging for some food. Most people ignored her; the shop worker scolded her half heartedly; he had seen enough hungry folks to

We have often said a single quote can teach us more than a sermon. Today's quotes are on the theme of faith - "It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."  - Mother Teresa "Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light."  - Helen Keller "It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable."  - Maya Angelou "What is to give light must endure the burning." - Eleanor Roosevelt "In God's eyes our words have only the value of our actions."  - St. Ignatius Loyola "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."  - Martin Luther King Jr. "What does the Lord require? Only to act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."  - Micah 6:8 "Faith is the bird that feels the lig

Author Unknown A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. when she asked him why he returned the stone, he said, "I've been thinking: I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone." In today's circumstances, sometimes it may make more sense and wisdom to give someone in need a skill, a tool or a job, rather than just money. It may have more impact.  Remember: A little boy gave up h

On thinking about the subject line one decided to research it and came across a beautiful and meaningful post about this. We could not help but share it with you, our readers.   Withholding from God By Erika in Symphony of Praise “You did what?” My mouth dropped open as my husband told the story. I couldn’t believe it. “God told you to sacrifice our son? Abraham, what is wrong with you? Where is Isaac? Where is my son?” Abraham calmly replied, “He is outside with the servants tending to the animals. He is fine Sarah”. “Okay, let me get this straight! You bound my son to an altar. You treated him like an animal. You lifted a knife to kill him, and you say everything is fine?” “Sarah, what would you have me do? Disobey God? God told me to take our son . . . our Isaac . . . our baby . . . our heir . . . our life. Isaac was to be sacrificed as a burnt offering to God. I didn’t question. If God gave him to us, God can take him from us. Our son was God’s before he was ours.” I saw Abraham s

There is a Hymn called Standing on the promises of God. Nice hymn though it leaves some questions which is how do you do that? What does it mean?  We are so used to broken, partially broken or seldom kept human promises that we are conditioned to take promises with a pinch of salt. Yet we are told to stand on Gods promises. What does it mean? Standing on the promises of God means having faith in God's promises and living in a way that is faithful to God. It also means being aware of God's promises and applying them to one's life There are more than 8000 promises made by God in the Bible . Which ones do you claim? Which ones has God made good on, to you? Here is an E Book listing them out and you can download it here . Read it and see what the Lord has done for you and can do for you. After all.... "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?&

                                                     Gods blessings are not limited by our circumstances. He can bring abundance and increase in the most unlikely of places. As we faithfully sow seeds of kindness, love, forgiveness and generosity, we can expect a harvest of blessings in due time. Remember, the harvest may not come immediately, it requires patience, perseverance and unwavering faith. But, rest assured, the Lord will bless us abundantly, according to His perfect timing and plan. Today let us take inspiration from Isaacs story and sow seeds of faith in our own lives, even during adversity, and give thanks and honor to the Lord knowing that every good thing comes from Him. Psalm 91 is a perfect reminder of Gods protection and provision during every adverse situation that may surround us.

  Dead Ends Have you ever encountered a situation so dire that it was beyond any conceivable thought or plan? Read More.... What Part of the Word did you Practice today? Reading the word of God is great, but do we really practice it? Read More...

Whatever continually occupies your mind is your God. Your job, worries, burdens, children, wife, husband... whoever comes first. Why not give God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that place? That is not to say to ignore all others. But Those are responsibilities which we can fulfill with the help of our God. It's not easy to relinquish control but do remember, every night when we sleep, by default we pass the control to God. It's time we gave Him priority in our conscious time and our attention as well. Proverbs 3:6 proclaims, “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success,”

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Reference: Matthew 25: Ver 35-40 If God comes knocking at your door today, what will you do? Seriously. What would someone do? Would we be excited? Would we be afraid? Would we run around like chickens not knowing what to do? Or would we turn Him away? The fact is, God does come knocking at your door, at your car window or in your office . And every so often we turn Him away. The fact is, there is God in everyone. The hungry beggar, the homeless man or woman, the lame and the sick. He comes to our door in many shapes and forms, but we do not recognize Him. So little is our faith in man that we judge: "oh why should I give? Can he not work?" Or "He will only go and drink it away". Or simply "this is another way of thievery". Friends, we justify our apathy with judgements. Yes, everything we think maybe true. They might drink

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness . It is an expression of humility . It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer , faith , courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being . James E. Faust " Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you ." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

  Today we have chosen the theme of Faith and Hope and bring you a post and a song. We hope you enjoy these.  Leap Of Faith can be read here  King of Heaven a Paul Baloche song rendered by Voices for Glory, the Bethel Methodist Chruch Choir can be heard here 

Remember Job? A character of much importance in the Bible. Some people joke and say that he innocently became the subject of a bet between God and Satan. Except that God does not gamble.  God also does not need to give points, but He did point Job to His truths. Yet, even today,  we humans want proof points. Proof of His creation, proof of His presence, proof of His love for us. We sure know about Him, but do we really believe in Him until he shows His presence? Humanity needs case studies like that of Job to show others of things like faith, Gods love, Divine intervention etc. If you look at it, Job is a typical human and, in the story, God lists out all the proof points you and I need that He exists, and He is God the Creator. He also gives proof points that He is the nurturer and the provider; that he is the protector of His creation and finally that He is the power that keeps the balance in His creation. The Story of Job is an important one for us. Not because it teaches us how to

If Jesus, His resurrection and God are not true, then Christianity is the biggest con in the world!  Imagine 4 billion people being fooled into thinking that a "man" was resurrected! Charles Colson, who was part of the Watergate scandal and later converted to Christianity, said this about the resurrection: “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world- and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years ? Absolutely impossible.” That was his rationale and his faith based on his experience. Like him, 4 billion people too have faith based on their own logic and experience. But you see, whichever wa

One story that has completely baffled us as we read the Bible was the story of Rahab.  You can find it in the book of Joshua in chapter 2 and 6:22-27. She is also  one of five women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of #Christ .  How could Rahab be used so strategically by God when she was a prostitute? Doesn't #God expect people to clean house before he works through them? How can the writers of the #Bible offer her story as an example to later generations without saying her profession was wrong? Without pointing fingers?   Our finding? If you’re going to read the Bible, you have to be ready for a God you don’t expect. Expect the unexpected at every expected turn! Alli Patterson says - "This God may violate your traditions and your theology (you’ve got one; trust me). He doesn’t always reward the “good” and punish the “bad.” The God of the Bible is most interested in the concept of faith (faith = our belief in him and willingness to risk something because of that belief). He

All too often, in this great world, we seem to lapse into a state of ingratitude, taking for granted all of the blessings and comforts we enjoy or have enjoyed. We either revert into an attitude of self-satisfaction, expecting that peace and bliss will always follow us, or, become despondent and depressed and totally hopeless when face with adversity and think that our desperate situation is forever. During these times we should, with sincerity of heart, count our blessings! Maybe even write them down to keep reminding us. There is a song too, by the same name which has a history which demonstrates the reality and truth of this song. We may have heard this song in school or #Sundayschool, because maybe adults think it is childish to thank #God so simply.  Gipsy Smith, a famous evangelist of yesteryear, said of this song, "Men sing it, boys whistle it and women rock their babies to sleep to it." How did this song come about?  Johnson Oatman, Jr., born April 21, 1856, was a ci

"Are you afflicted and burdened excessively? Do you feel as if you're under such intense pressure these days that you are close to despair? I have some surprising news: you're exactly where God wants you to be. It took all these years to get you this low, this needy. Now, look up!" That was Pastor Chuck Swindoll. This statement can make us wonder if our God is a sadist. But, if you have ever lived by grace alone, if His grace alone has ever been truly sufficient, one can understand what Pastor Chuck means. But why should God want us to be at our lowest?  Firstly, God wants us to be reliant on Him and His grace alone. Not on self or money or power or position. He will take away all such crutches and teach us to walk independently with Him. This is critical because of point no 2 - Second , blessings given us by God need to be shared. His blessing needs to flow through us - not stored in us. On our own, we will never allow them to flow through us to others unless we ha

  Why did Peter start sinking when he tried to walk on water? What did he do wrong? Did he lose faith? Did he waver? As Pastor Rajiv expands on this important story and the critical lessons for us today, here is a brief summary of that event.  Peter, one of the disciples, responded by saying, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus invited Peter to come, and Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus. However, when Peter noticed the strong wind, he became afraid and began to sink.

The celebrated Scottish preacher, James Stewart, made a statement explaining ....: "It is always upon human weakness and humiliation, not human strength and confidence, that God chooses to build His Kingdom; and that He can use us not merely in spite of our ordinariness and helplessness and disqualifying infirmities, but precisely because of them." This fact actually transforms our mental attitude toward our circumstances. Our cribbing and self-pity over issues we face, weaknesses we have and lack of resources, all fade away once we acknowledge all and yet commit to being ready to serve. We maybe financially broken, physically challenged or mentally destroyed, yet we are of use in His kingdom. How we will be used is left to Him. Let's take a look at some of our Biblical greats who served God . As a leader, Moses need to be a great speaker yet he couldn't speak straight. Jacob was deceptive. Abraham, too old to father a child, begot a nation. Did you know Elijah was