This Week With Jesus

Once upon a time, in a place called Heaven, a curious scene unfolded. The old king sat at the head of the round table, with His head bowed and deep in thought. Around Him sat His closest advisers, Sir Michael, Sir Gabriel and others and His Son stood next to Him. “You know why we are here,” said the king. The earth is in shambles, people are rebellious, and no one wants to live in peace with each other, let alone listen to me. In fact, some of them openly hate me “ “I made the earth and created humans to have a relationship with me. This relationship characterized by love, worship, and communion. I wanted Humans to live in harmony with me and each other.” “I wanted them to take care of the planet and all its inhabitants, love me and love each other. But most of all I wanted them to do all of this of their own accord – so I gave them free will. And what did they do with that great power of free will and choice?? They rebelled against me! I gave them laws but they broke them. I gave them...

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today" . - Deuteronomy 8:18 The Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore, once said that we can attain anything if we create the capacity to receive it.  This profound thought challenges us to reflect on our own readiness to receive blessings from our God. Are we really ready? Our God has promised us endless blessings, but do we truly have the capacity to receive them? What does this entail? Pastor and Bible commentator David Guzik writes, "Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us why God has blessed us. His plan is that it would ultimately further His eternal purpose. Therefore, we have no right to use our material blessings for selfish purposes; instead, we should use our resources to advance His kingdom." Our process of preparation begins with God Himself readying us. Our trials make space for His consolation. When God ...

  Recently we have seen a spate in discussions around the subject of Christians actively trying to convince others to follow Christ. This is said to be as per His command in Matthew 16:15. Francis Taylor has a very relevant view on this and has this to say - "If we ever needed a reminder of how important it is to practice what we preach, this is it. Not only are we encouraged to help others, but we are also warned about giving bad example or leading others, particularly children, away from the Lord." "I have spoken to many people who say that they became a Christian because of the example of people in their family, friends or strangers whose joy is so great they want a part of it. I also know people who have turned away from the faith they once had because they consider those who proclaim themselves to be Christian are hypocrites. Most people don't start out wanting to be Christians because of doctrine. They are influenced one way or another by people. Are you someon...

First let's be clear that humans cannot earn worthiness of Christ on our own. essentially, our worthiness comes from Jesus' sacrifice, not our own merit. However, once we have accepted Him, we then need to try and live a life according to Him and worthy to Him. It begins with making Jesus first in our life. It is seen in our love for God and our love for others. Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. Choose to live according to God's word every day. Most of all practice the presence of Jesus in our life. How can we do that? To practice the presence of Jesus in our life, we can: start our day with intentional prayer and reflection on scripture, incorporate short moments of prayer throughout our day, actively seek to see Jesus in everyday situations, express gratitude for His presence, and live according to His teachings by showing love and compassion to others; essentially, consciously acknowledge Jesus in all aspects of our life and actively ...

Have you ever pondered who you would be or what your life would be like if Jesus had not come into the world? For starters, we would still be under the law, not under grace and forgiveness. God would be perceived as an entity to be feared and respected out of that fear. We would be terrified of the Almighty. But the game changed with the advent of Jesus. He did not abolish the law; rather, He simplified it and inscribed it on our hearts. The sacrifice needed for our forgiveness every time we sinned was made permanently by Himself. This changed everything. It transformed our relationship with God from one of fear to one of love. Respect and reverence became part of our love for God, and grace and forgiveness became part of His love for us. Jesus' message of hope, redemption, and transformation continues to change lives today. Countless individuals have experienced personal transformation and found purpose, meaning, and hope through faith in Jesus. His profound influence on humanity ...

  “How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.” (George MacDonald) “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) “Since God knows our future, our personalities, and our capacity to listen, He isn't ever going to say more to us than we can deal with at the moment.” (Charles Stanley) “If your friend is sick and dying, the most important thing he wants is not an explanation; he wants you to sit with him. He's terrified of being alone more than anything else. So, God has not left us alone.” (Lee Strobel) “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.” (Brother Lawrence) “A little lifting up of the heart suffices; a little remembrance of God, an interior act of adoration, even though made on the march and ...

                                             Just as Adam was made responsible for the care of the garden, God commits some special responsibilities to us as well. It could be the care of our children and bringing them to God, it could be caring for the sick, or caring for some elderly people, or maybe helping someone financially broken, or the elders in our circle and our parents. How we deal with what has been committed to us as responsibility is what will determine our success in Gods world. That will determine whether, at the end of it all, Christ will say - "well done my good and faithful servant..." . Let us therefore pray for discernment to see our responsibilities and strength and mind to fulfill them. This week we pray once again for the Pastor in India and his wife who is suffering from Stage 4 cancer. We pray for a miracle of Jesus to heal her. we pray for a seni...

                                                      Prayer is Where the Action is - John Wesley Does God see? Does God care? Scripture calls us to believe that God really does see, know, and hear. The question is do we call?  Today, we thank God for the recovery of your servant in Australia, in India and those who were sick and needed your intervention.  Today we request you, our readers, for prayers for all these people. We do not know them nor they us. Yet we believe, your prayers will help them and give them hope:  Brandi says - Can you please pray for God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, The Angelic Hierarchy, The Saints, all those that help us, me (Brandi), my family and my friends. WE are going through a very challenging time right now and could really use your prayers. Thank you! Tanu Prays -  Heavenly Father I come befo...