29 May 2014

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. [Psalm 55:22]

Many of us read Psalm 55:22 without considering the context that magnifies God's sovereignty and supremacy in the midst of very, very, very tough times. Consider this: the psalmist is experiencing foreign threats, inner fear, deceit in the city that he rules, treachery and the onslaught of good friends killing each other.

And yet, at the end of it all, he says, "Cast your cares to the Lord" and "But I will trust in you". Casting your cares mean letting go and letting God, and it may not be very easy, but when God's in charge, He will not let the righteous be shaken (Psalm 112:6). Trust Him.

28 May 2014

"...I will be found by you," declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” [Jeremiah 29:14]

The best prosperity is being with the Lord. We are brought from captivity of sin into the freedom of righteousness so that we don't go back into sin! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) Why go back to the life-sucker when I can live with the live-giver?

27 May 2014

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. [Jeremiah 29:12-13]

I want to let you know that God's prosperity will not drive you to addiction or the bondage that worldly prosperity brings. Instead, if the blessings were really from God, they would turn you to Him.

Blessings were designed not to fulfill the flesh. Otherwise, they are curses in disguise! God's blessings stir up your love for Him, and fires up your heart to yearn for Him, to seek Him and to run after Him like never before.

26 May 2014

"...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..." [Jeremiah 29:11]

Many preachers focus on the part where it says, "plans to prosper you," forgetting that the context of this verse is about Israel's bondage and the freedom that abounds in it.

Today, I want to bring your attention to "I know the plans I have for you". God has plans to prosper us, but always remember: it's HIS plans, not ours. It's His way of prosperity, not ours. And His prosperity will include and exceed ours far beyond measure, for He knows what satisfies us. And with His plan, we truly feel prospered.

25 May 2014

This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place..." [Jeremiah 29:10]

Notice that Israel has been in captivity for 70 years due to their disobedience, their turning away from God. Yet, despite such rebellion, God still couldn't bear to see them suffer longer than they should (in punishment for their sin).

God wants to fulfill His good promise even after you have turned away from Him. He has plans to prosper you, and by following His ways and His method of prosperity will you walk right out of bondage, no turning back.

Justified

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [James 5:15]

(This devotional was written on 19 May 2014)

As promised, I would talk about-hands down-the most guilty day of my life. It happened a short while back, after serving in church!

We were celebrating the birthday of our friends at a nice chalet with a large swimming pool. All was well until about, say, 9pm, when we decided to have some Western fun of pushing everyone into the pool. Most of them were fine, until we pushed in one of them.

Well, she got a shock and later on was half-unconscious. My leader rebuked me for setting a terrible example for my younger churchmates, considering that I was one of the oldest teens there. I nearly killed someone. I was rebuked. I was, hands down, condemned.

Condemned.

Every step I took as I went to find a place to seek solace was filled with the ominous cloud of condemnation, fear and guilt. I felt faint. I felt bad, cos I nearly took the life of a friend; all because of one reckless move!

And later on, the adults called me to sit by our friend, still semi-conscious on the picnic bench. My heart wrenched as I saw her just...lying there. I was fearful. I was afraid. I felt as though I'm the world' biggest sinner.

And I prayed.

"Father, I do not deserve anything good. I nearly killed someone and I'm the world's biggest sinner. However, I live not by my actions but by Your grace. And I can do the impossible not because I am good but because You are good."

I looked to our friend and said, "In the name of Jesus, I command you to rise," and the next moment, she rose from the bench. Over the next few days she rested well and recuperated, giving me one of the biggest sighs of relief ever.

The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Amen and Amen.

24 May 2014

...the testing of your faith produces patience. [James 1:3]

When we don't realize who we are in Christ, our faith will be crippled. If you don't feel worthy to exercise your authority in Christ, then you won't be doing it in the fullness of faith and will lack assurance. Satan works diligently to program people's minds to feel unworthy and unable to walk in power of God here on earth. This is one of the most popular strongholds in existence today in the body of Christ! The truth is that we, by our own power and effort, are unworthy, but it is the Blood of Christ that makes us worthy. And if we say we are unworthy even though the blood says we are, then we are denying the work that Christ did for us on the cross! -Marc Tay