Friday, 31 March 2017
Bidz (Jewelry Auctions)
Transformed to be like Jesus
"On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them." Zechariah 12:8.
The great privilege of being a Christian is the transformation process of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives. We come to Jesus as sinners needing His forgiveness; with hurts needing His healing; weak needing His strength; with torment needing His peace; with fears needing His deliverance. God is not only changing us but He is also transforming us.
Change uses external influences and motivation from the outside to cause us to change our actions. We are motivated to make New Year Resolutions that last only temporarily. Transformation, however, results from the Holy Spirit working from the inside to change our beliefs and thinking so that our actions become our new nature and new norm. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are being transformed into the likeness of God. "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
God promises that the feeblest among us will become strong like David the giant-killer. In you is the power of God to outlast and outlive your enemies. Be strong in the LORD and allow Him to turn your weakness into strength and your sadness into joy as you are transformed into His likeness.
Kingdom Declaration:
I am being transformed into the likeness of Jesus to bring great glory to His Name.
@Dr Pat Francis
Thursday, 30 March 2017
As you seek direction
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8.
Are you in the middle of making a big decision and you need to know that it is God who is directing you? The fact that you need to know means that you are aware that your ideas are not always perfect; your thoughts are not always positive; God is not always the source of your imagination. Human beings are imperfect. We don't always hear, think, speak, and act perfectly.
The good news is that we don't have to just depend on ourselves for direction, stability, guidance, and confidence. God has promised to instruct us, teach us, counsel us, and watch over us in our journey of decisions and actions. With God's guidance, we can have confidence in His control of the outcome, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.
As you seek direction:
1) Pray. God will lead, guide, and help you.
2) Seek wise counsel. "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." Proverb 15:22.
3) Wait for confirmation. "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." Psalm 33:20.
4) Keep listening. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:17.
Kingdom Declaration:
I thank God for His continuous guidance in my life on my path of lasting success.
@Dr Pat Francis
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
The Seven Last Words of Jesus
"And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:39.
Words from a dying person can be remorseful, fearful, resentful or sad but for Jesus, His last words were deliberate, confident, and intentional:
Forgiveness is an act of faith not feelings. No one deserves forgiveness. It is an opportunity for mercy because we all need mercy.
2) "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:43.
Jesus said this to a dying thief who was also on a cross beside him. It is never too late for God's mercy.
3) "Dear woman behold your son, son behold your mother." John 19:25-27.
Even in the midst of His torture Jesus took care of His mother.
4) "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46
Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the language he used as a child. He went back into His childhood to appeal to His Father's heart. Jesus knows the pain of an abandoned child.
5) "I thirst." John 19:28
He who is the source of living water denied Himself to become for us the water of life.
He declared his mission accomplished. Our sins were paid for in full.
He gave up His life for you and all people. He rose again three days later and remains today the risen Christ, Savior, Lord, and King of Glory.
Kingdom Declaration:
Jesus Christ is my Savior, Lord, and King of Glory.
@Dr Pat Francis
Monday, 27 March 2017
Trials contain seeds of glory
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6,7.
Remember that nothing can separate you from the love of God. His love for you includes protection from destruction. During trials His grace is your shield, His mercy mediates, His love is your covering, and His glory is your power within and protection around you. Do not be tormented by failure or fear. God knows your strengths and weaknesses and yet He has chosen you for the praise of His glory.
William Wilberforce is probably one of the best-known slavery abolitionists. For years he fought against the slave trade and his enemies were among politicians, slave owners, and global leaders in Europe and West-India. He was involved in the revolution of the century. His life was threatened and relationships broken. Disappointed and discouraged, he was about to give up when his friend John Wesley, on his death bed, with trembling hands wrote William a letter, "unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and of devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? O be not weary in well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it." Wesley died six days later. Wilberforce fought for 42 more years. Three days before his death, slavery was abolished in Britain, later to be abolished in the English colonies.
Trials contain seeds of glory. God is with you and for you. Your endurance will make you stronger. Your victory will be a blessing to you and to others. God gains glory through the trials of His servants and bestow upon them glory for a great testimony.
Kingdom Declaration:
I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
@Dr Pat Francis
Sunday, 26 March 2017
A time for self-discovery
"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31.
There is strength, ability, creativity, and sustaining power that is waiting for discovery. Sometimes it takes challenging times to make you discover your resilience; dangerous moments for you to discover your inner strength; discouraging words that make you discover your faith; and frustrating moments that make you discover your inner peace.
There is a story of a woman who chased her husband through the crowds at the zoo, waving her umbrella and unleashing insults like invisible missiles. Her perspiring and winded husband, seeing that the lock on the lion's cage had not quite closed, yanked it open, jumped into the cage, slammed the door, pushed the astonished lion hard against the bars, and peered over its shoulder. His frustrated wife shook her umbrella, stuttered in anger, and finally managed to explode, "Ralph, come out of there, you coward!"
If you think you are a coward, that's because you have not yet discovered your strength. If you think you are stupid, that's because you have had the wrong mentors. If you think you are the most unlikely to succeed that's only because you are the most unlikely to try.
Paul operated at a supernatural level of confidence and he said:"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. Put your hope in the LORD and He will activate and renew strength (power, creativity, and sustaining ability) in you.
Kingdom Declaration:
The Lord is my strength and shield. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
@Dr Pat Francis
Saturday, 25 March 2017
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
